INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Colts are now 8-4 with their first loss at home this season after falling to the Texans 16-20 on Sunday.

WISH-TV Daybreak Colts Contributor Heather Lloyd donned “mourning clothes” as she joined News 8 for a “post-game therapy session” over a game she says the Colts absolutely had to win.

“After coming off a loss to the Chiefs, this was a must win – for many reasons – to secure the division, for their playoff hopes, to get some momentum, and with the strength of their schedule the rest of the season,” Lloyd said.

Colts struggle against the Texans

Between injuries, missed kicks, and failed conversions, it was a tough day at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“They punted on their first three possessions, Daniel Jones didn’t look real comfortable in the pocket, there were some drops by the receivers,” Lloyd said. “(And then) Sauce Gardner, the star cornerback they just traded for went down with a calf injury in the first quarter and never returned. Not much was going right for them.”

Things seemed to be looking up in the second quarter, when the Colts offense finally started to gain momentum, getting them on the board with six points.

But then: “Michael Badgley misses the extra point. That’s three missed extra points for the season for him, by the way,” Lloyd added. “The Colts went into halftime down 6-10. Nothing to panic about – yet. Except the kicker.”

In come the referees

Refs aren’t always going to be perfect. Lloyd says she is a firm believer in this principle, but there were “a few egregious calls on the Colts” on Sunday.

“The Colts went into the fourth quarter tied 13-13. On one play, the play clock expired on the Texans offense (it wasn’t called). But you know what they did call? Pass interference on Kenny Moore – when he didn’t even touch the guy!?”

The Texans went on to score a touchdown, and the refs called a missed extra point by the Texans kicker.

“Sometimes, it’s hard to tell from the angle you see it from – but it definitely didn’t pass the eye test. And it wasn’t a challengeable call because the ball went over the goal post,” Lloyd said.

The officiating was so bad that even former Colts coach Tony Dungy chimed in on it during the game.

“We’ve had bad pass interference calls all weekend and some missed PI calls. But the one in the Texans-Colts game was very bad,” Dungy wrote on X. “Blatant disregard of the rule when legs get tangled. And on top of that they missed a delay of game before the ball was snapped. NFL has to do something about this.”

Up next: Jacksonville. What could go wrong?

In the end, the Colts just couldn’t make enough plays to overcome the Texans and the officials.

They are heading to Florida on Sunday to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are tied 8-4 with the Colts and are in the running to take the AFC South title. While the Colts fell to the Texans, the Jags saw better luck against their Sunday rivals, the Titans.

Lloyd mentions that the Colts haven’t won in Jacksonville since 2014, because “everything goes wrong when the Colts play in Jacksonville.”

“The players don’t want to hear it. Zaire Franklin said he doesn’t care about history. This is a new team.
But anyone who’s witnessed the horrors of Everbank past understands what a battle the Colts have ahead of them,” Lloyd said.

“Maybe Daniel Jones can break the spell. Oh, and he’s playing with a broken leg – but don’t worry about that.”

To hear more from Lloyd and the WISH-TV team, watch the video above!