Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season featured lots of chaos, but there can’t be true chaos in the league without a tie. The Texans and Colts fit the bill, with the AFC South showdown ending 20-20 after a scoreless 10-minute overtime.
It was a gritty, grueling game that meant different things for each team. For the Texans, it was an indication that perhaps they aren’t as bad most thought coming into the year. For the Colts, it showed they have a lot of work to do.
It took a bit of luck for this game to end in a draw. The Colts’ true final drive of the game was a knock-down drag-out affair. Indianapolis moved to the Houston 24 after 13-play, 45-yard drive that took 6:30 off the clock. The Texans were only saved by Rodrigo Blankenship missing a 42-yard field goal kick.
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Houston eventually gave the Colts the ball back with 20 seconds remaining after punting on fourth-and-3 from the Indianapolis 49. The Texans effectively conceded a tie. While not perfect math, the Surrender Index graded the punt harshly.
HOU decided to punt to IND from the IND 49 on 4th & 3 with 0:20 remaining in OT while tied 20 to 20.
With a Surrender Index of 72.12, this punt ranks at the 100th percentile of cowardly punts of the 2022 season, and the 99.6th percentile of all punts since 1999.
— Surrender Index 90 (@surrender_idx90) September 11, 2022
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So, why would the Texans do something like that? Put simply: Coach Lovie Smith was surrendering.
“I felt like a tie was better than a loss in that situation,” Smith told reporters after the game, per Yahoo. “It’s a decision that you make. If you would guarantee that we were going to get (the first down), then it was good. But if you miss it right there and they had stuffed us on the play, they have one play and they’re in (field goal) position.”
Smith called back to his team’s struggles on the previous Colts drive.
“It’s not like we were playing our best defense at the time,” he said. “We were drained. We were gassed a little bit. That’s how it goes. In an ideal world, you don’t want a loss, you want a win, but if you can’t get the win, sometimes you settle for the tie. A lot of football left to go in the season.”
Not everyone on the Texans agreed with Smith’s take.
“We’re devastated,” offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil said, per Click2Houston. “It feels like we took an L, but it’s better than a loss. It was our fault. There’s some things on film we’ve got to fix. We’ve got 24 hours to let it go. You’ve got to give respect to us. You’ve got to earn it.”
“It’s very bittersweet,” said defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo. “We’ve been working really hard and we wanted to get a win and finish the game out. We didn’t get it done, but a lot of bright spots.”
While none of this means much for Smith’s long-term prospects in Houston, it is an ominous start to his return to the NFL. The Texans’ next game will be Sept. 18 against Russell Wilson and the Broncos.
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