Deji Karim's 101-yard kickoff return after a Houston field goal gave the Colts the lead for good and Indianapolis held on to beat the Texans, 28-16, Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, leaving the door wide open for the Patriots to clinch a first-round bye with a win over Miami.
All the Patriots need to do is beat the Dolphins in their season finale at Gillette Stadium and they will clinch at least a No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs, which begin next week. If the Patriots win and the Broncos lose at home to Kansas City, they will clinch the No. 1 overall seed and home field throughout the playoffs for a second straight season.
The Colts were trailing 16-14 on a Shayne Graham field goal when Karim raced right up the middle nearly untouched for a touchdown that changed the momentum of the game for good. The Colts all but sealed the win later with a 70-yard TD connection from Andrew Luck to T.Y. Hilton on third-and-23, putting Indianapolis up, 28-16.
The game was shown on the video board and drew major cheers when the two Colts touchdowns were shown. The Texans finish 12-4 while Indianapolis finishes the season at 11-5.
The game was an emotional game for the Colts, who were coached by Chuck Pagano for the first time since being diagnosed with Leukemia in October. For more, visit the Patriots team page at weei.com/patriots [1].
Links:
[1] http://www.weei.com/patriots
[2] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/patriots