The Indianapolis Colts beat the Houston Texans 19-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, and Spencer Shrader scored all but 6 of their points. He kicked 4 field goals, and the last one took back a Texans lead that had lasted just over a minute and a half.

Indianapolis needed every one of those field goals. The Colts gave the ball away 3 times while Houston never did, and they turned only 1 of their 3 red-zone trips into a touchdown.

How It Happened

Shrader opened the scoring with a 39-yard field goal at 4:28 of the first quarter. Daniel Jones found Keenan Allen for a 6-yard touchdown at 11:08 of the second, and the Colts led 10-0.

Houston answered at 4:30 when C.J. Stroud hit Foster Moreau from 1 yard out, cutting the gap to 10-7. Shrader pushed it back to 13-7 with a 58-yarder at 1:03, and that held through halftime.

The third quarter was scoreless. Shrader made it 16-7 with a 37-yard kick at 12:43 of the fourth, and Ka'imi Fairbairn got 3 back from 24 yards at 7:33.

Woody Marks then ran in from 1 yard at 1:48, and Fairbairn's extra point gave Houston a 17-16 lead. Shrader answered from 53 yards with 0:16 left to win it.

Key Performers

Kicking: Spencer Shrader (IND) – 4 FG (39, 58, 37, 53 YDS), 1 PAT
Colts passing: 24-36, 211 net YDS, 1-1 (TD-INT), 4 sacks for 24 YDS
Receiving TD: Keenan Allen (IND) – 6 YDS from Daniel Jones
Texans passing: 16-27, 153 net YDS, 1-0 (TD-INT), 3 sacks for 14 YDS
Rushing TD: Woody Marks (HOU) – 1 YD
Kicking: Ka'imi Fairbairn (HOU) – 1 FG (24 YDS), 2 PAT

Shrader was the game. Two of his makes came from 58 and 53 yards, including the one with the game on the line, and the Colts' offense stalled often enough that he was their most reliable scorer.

Indianapolis won the game on volume rather than efficiency. The Colts ran 71 plays to Houston's 51 and held the ball for more than 35 minutes, but Houston actually gained slightly more per play.

What It Means

The Colts are 1-2, and their only win has come at home. They are 1-1 at Lucas Oil Stadium and 0-1 on the road, so this result kept home field from becoming another loss column.

Houston is still winless after three weeks, now losing at home and on the road. The Texans did the hard part by protecting the ball all afternoon, but they converted just 4 of 11 third downs and finished with 223 total yards.

That is the problem in one line. A team that commits no turnovers and draws only 2 penalties should win a two-point game, and Houston couldn't stay on the field long enough to do it.