05-22-2019, 02:53 AM
(SportsNetwork. Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey .com) - The top spot in the AFC South will be on the line when Houston native Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts shoot for their fourth straight win when they take on the Texans at NRG Stadium. The two-time defending division champion Colts have rebounded from a slow 0-2 start with three consecutive wins, including last weekends 20-13 triumph over Baltimore. Indianapolis has also generally dominated the Texans over the years, winning three consecutive games in the rivalry and compiling a gaudy 20-4 overall record against Houston. Meanwhile, the Colts have also excelled on short weeks, winning nine straight games when playing on Thursday despite the lack of preparation time. Its annoying for players, Texans star running back Arian Foster said this week when asked about playing on Thursday. I dont know one player that likes it. I really dont know a fan that likes it, either. I think its just the leagues way of trying to generate more revenue. Nobody is ready to play physically after a Sunday game. But youve got to go out there and do it. No team has figured out how to do it better than the Colts, who are 11-1-1 in Thursday games. The only thing trending in Houstons direction is the fact that the home team has won four of the first five Thursday matchups in 2014. Last weekend Luck passed for a touchdown and ran for another score against the Ravens, connecting on 32-of-49 passes for 312 yards, his fourth 300-yard passing performance in five tries this season. The only negative aspect of the ledger for Luck was two interceptions. Ahmad Bradshaw added 68 yards on the ground but his fumble inside two minutes left nearly cost the game for the Colts. Its huge to survive our mistakes in a sense, said Luck. Its the epitome of a team football game, of a defense lifting us up in a sense. We made our plays enough to get a win obviously. The Texans, meanwhile, are coming off a tough loss in Dallas, losing a Lone Star State matchup with the Cowboys in overtime. Dan Bailey kicked the game-winning 49-yard field goal in the extra frame to lift Dallas. The Texans had scored the last 10 points of regulation to force OT, but punted on the opening possession of the extra session. The Cowboys DeMarco Murray picked up 11 yards on a 3rd-and-1, and on an ensuing 3rd-and-8, Tony Romo lofted a rainbow along the left sideline for Dez Bryant. Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph had tight coverage on Bryant, who ran a stop-and-go route, but Bryant was able to reach over top of his helmet to make a spectacular grab. It was the play of the game, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said. I dont know if theres a better guy in the league that can make those kind of contested catches than Dez Bryant. Bailey, who missed a 53-yard field goal on the final play of regulation to snap his streak of 30 consecutive field goals, was able to split the uprights this time from the left hash with 7:45 on the clock. Foster carried the ball 23 times for 157 yards and two scores for the Texans (3-2), who have dropped two of three since beginning the year 2-0. Our defense did a good job of holding us in there, Texans head coach Bill OBrien said. We just didnt do enough offensively. Ryan Fitzpatrick was 16-of-25 for 154 yards with an interception, DeAndre Hopkins caught six passes for 63 yards and Andre Johnson hauled in five balls for 58 yards in defeat. No loss feels good, but, like I said, we have a quick turnaround, OBrien continued. Weve got to get better, and weve got to get better fast because we havent played a division game yet and we have a very big division game coming up on Thursday night in front of our home fans. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Luck and the Colts have gotten fat over the past three weeks thanks to a fortuitous turn in their schedule with two lightly-regarded opponents -- Jacksonville and Tennessee -- followed by a home game against Baltimore. That said you can only play who is put in front of you and Indianapolis has handled its business, outscoring those three opponents by a combined 105-47 margin or by an average of 35-16. The Colts defense, which allowed 409.5 yards per game in the first two games of the season, has settled down and surrendered only 297.3 per game since. The unit mustered just one sack and one turnover in the first two and had generated 11 sacks and nine takeaways during its three-game run with outside linebacker Bjoern Werner registering a career-high two sacks last weekend. The good thing about the Colts is that were very familiar with them, Texans tackle Duane Brown said. Of course you have a different game plan than weve had in years past, but as far as the personnel and things like that we kind of know what to expect. Of course, the real strength of the Colts lies in their QB, Luck, who pilots an offense that is second overall in the NFL with 439.6 YPG and tops in passing offense (321.8 YPG). Luck himself leads the NFL with 1,617 passing yards and 14 touchdowns but the free thrower is also tops in interceptions with six. With seven catches for 77 yards against the Ravens, veteran Indy wide receiver Reggie Wayne (13,950) surpassed Hall of Famer Cris Carter for the ninth-most receiving yards of all-time. Wayne needs 55 yards against the Texans to surpass another Hall of Famer, James Lofton, for eighth place. Wayne will also look to extend his streak of impressive performances against AFC South opponents. Since divisional realignment in 2002, Wayne leads all active players in receptions (376) and receiving yards (5,077) against his own division. The impressive Houston defense is led by All-Pro defensive lineman J.J. Watt, who has two sacks, three batdowns, an interception return for a TD, and an NFL- high 16 QB hits through five outings, and leads the NFL with 12 takeaways. Safeties Kendrick Lewis and D.J. Swearinger both have three forced fumbles, tied for the most in the NFL, and inside linebacker Brian Cushing leads the unit with 45 tackles. Offensively the Texans will continue to rely on their own veteran receiver, Johnson, who needs just 19 receiving yards to become the 15th player in NFL history to reach 13,000, as well as Foster, who leads the AFC since 2010 with 5,210 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns, including 752 yards (125.3 per game) and six touchdowns in six career matchups against Indianapolis. OVERALL ANALYSIS History says the Colts are usually the better prepared team on a short week and there is little reason to expect that to change this time around. Indianapolis has never lost on NFL Networks Thursday Night Football, posting a 7-0 record dating back to 2007 with six of those seven wins coming on the road. You realize once the game starts, its football, said Luck. Theres no use complaining or whining about anything. Its what you do. Sports Network predicted outcome: Colts 24, Texans 17 Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys . Four years after winning gold on home ice in Vancouver, the Canadians will get a chance to make it two in a row Sunday against Sweden after beating the United States 1-0 in the Olympic semifinals Friday at Bolshoy Ice Dome. Artemi Panarin Jersey . Indeed, must be among the greatest challenges in all of sports. The pressure he applies, from set to set, game to game, point to point, shot to shot. http://www.bluejacketsshop.com/customized/ . -- One shot came out of bottom of a cactus, the other from the base of a desert bush with rocks scattered around it.PORTLAND, Ore. - The last time Nicolas Batum had a triple-double, it came because of a casually tossed buzzer-beating 3-pointer in a rout of San Antonio earlier this season. The Trail Blazers forward was embarrassed and said he never meant to disrespect the Spurs, so it didnt count. This one counted. Batum had 14 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 14 assists for his fourth career triple-double in Portlands 110-94 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night. And he did it with a fractured finger. "Ive said it many times about Nic — hes very versatile and he does a lot of things," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "When he stays aggressive, good things happen." LaMarcus Aldridge kept Portland in it despite a sluggish start and finished with 36 points and nine rebounds. The Blazers, who came in having lost four of their last six, avoided a season-high three-game losing streak. After struggling to pull ahead in the third quarter, Mo Williams hit a 3-pointer and Thomas Robinson made a layup to give the Blazers 90-82 with just over six minutes left. Aldridge made consecutive jumpers, Damian Lillard added a 3-pointer and Portland took a 97-87 lead. Batum extended it with a 19-foot-jumper. Batum got his 10th rebound with less than a minute left and many in the crowd gave him a standing ovation. His first triple-double this season came in a 115-105 victory over San Antonio on Nov. 2 — but that was the one he doesnt count. "I have to do a lot of things on the court especially on offence and defence to do my job," he said. "I know my job. I know my role." Batum sustained an avulsion fracture of his left middle finger, meaning a fragment pulled away from the bone, in a loss to Philadelphia on Saturday night. He has been playing with a splint. Portland was coming off a 123-119 loss at Sacramento on Tuesday night. Lillard had a career-high 41 points in the defeat, but was held to 11 against the Magic. "I was (tired), just a little bit," Lillard said. "But Nico was making a lot of the plays, so thats what was working for us." Arron Afflalo had 22 points for the Magic, who lost their fifth straight. Orlando was coming off a 101-81 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night to open a five-game road trip. "I thought our intensity was good in the first half," Afflalo said. "We just got off course in the second half." Orlando was without 7-foot centre Nikola Vucevic, who sustained a cooncussion in the loss to the Clippers and is listed as day-to-day. Seth Jones Jersey. The Magic shifted their lineup to make room for rookie Victor Oladipo, who made his 17th start of the season to the delight of a big contingent of Indiana fans who were at the game. Portland led by as many as eight points early, but the Magic closed the gap and the score was knotted at 24 going into the second quarter. Afflalo hit consecutive 3-pointers to cap a 16-2 run and the Magic took a 46-34 lead. Portland answered with an 11-3 run to pull within 49-45, but Afflalos 18-foot jumper gave the Magic a 51-45 lead at the break. Stotts addressed the Blazers sternly during halftime. "It was the first time Ive seen that much emotion from him," said guard Wesley Matthews, who finished with 17 points. "I cant repeat any of it, and it was one of those things where he almost didnt even have to do it, but it was good that he did. We thrived off that." Aldridge led all scorers with 21 points in the first half, and his layup and free throw evened it at 53 early in the third quarter. But the Blazers couldnt pull in front and the Magic answered by scoring the next eight points. Aldridge hit a jumper from the top of the key to narrow it to 66-63 before Lillard hit a 3-pointer to tie it for the Blazers again with 2:40 left in the third quarter. Again, the Blazers couldnt get ahead until Matthews basket made it 76-75 with 10:45 left. "We fought the entire game," Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn said. "Were short-handed and guys really pulled for each other. We contained the 3-point shooting in the first three quarters and they end up making 3s in the fourth. You give them a lot of credit. Thats a good team." Robinson, who had only been played sparingly lately, was a spark off the bench for the Blazers in the fourth quarter and finished with six points and three rebounds in 11 minutes. NOTES: The Blazers activated rookie guard C.J. McCollum, who made his NBA debut late in the first quarter. McCollum, the 10th overall pick in last years draft out of Lehigh, fractured his left foot before the start of the season. He was activated earlier this week, but did not play at Sacramento. He finished with four points and two rebounds in 13 minutes. ... In addition to his triple-double, it was Batums third consecutive double-double, a career first. ... Batum joins Rajon Rondo, Kevin Durant and LeBron James as the only players with four triple-doubles in the past two seasons. 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