HOUSTON – Anthony Richardson, despite completing just two passes over an uneven first half, had two chances to lead the Colts to a win that would've upended the AFC South on Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Down by three with about three minutes left, defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo recovered a fumble – Texans running back Joe Mixon couldn't handle an off-target pitch – on the Colts' 18-yard line.

Richardson, though, was put under heavy pressure on both his second-and-15 and third-and-15 snaps, leading to an incompletion and a sack. Rigoberto Sanchez punted the ball back to the Texans, who ran the ball three times and punted back to the Colts with about a minute left.

Without any timeouts, Richardson scrambled for 26 yards but stayed in bounds, keeping the clock running. He threw incomplete on the next three plays, leading to a do-or-die fourth-and-10 with 14 seconds to go on the Colts' 35-yard line. Richardson completed a check down to running back Trey Sermon, and with one second left spiked the ball on the Colts' 49-yard line.

Richardson was sacked on the final play, ending the game.

The loss effectively drops the Colts (4-4) three games behind the Texans (6-2), who now own the head-to-head tiebreaker in the 2024 season series.

The Colts jumped out to an early lead when Richardson connected with a wide-open Josh Downs for a 69-yard touchdown. It was the Colts' fourth play of 50 or more yards against the Texans in 2024; Houston hasn't allowed a play of 50-plus yards in any of their other games this season.

Houston answered with a 70-yard drive, though, with running back Joe Mixon scything his way 14 yards for a touchdown.

The second quarter then turned into a cagey, punt-filled bit of back-and-forth. The Colts' front generated plenty of pressure on Stroud – defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and Odeyingbo each had a sack, and the Colts totaled six quarterback hits in the first 30 minutes.

The Texans took the lead just before halftime when Stroud connected with wide receiver Tank Dell for a seven-yard touchdown, which came one play after Richardson was picked off on third down by safety Jalen Pitre deep in Colts territory.

Richardson completed two of 15 passes for 81 yards in the first half.

Houston added a Ka'imi Fairborn field goal to its lead midway through the third quarter on a drive sparked by a 49-yard completion from Stroud to wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

The Colts got back within a score later in the third quarter when Matt Gay connected on a 37-yard field goal. The possession was extended when Houston was called for offsides on a Rigoberto Sanchez punt; after the penalty, Richardson picked up 12 yards on a designed run to convert a fourth-and-three play. Running back Jonathan Taylor's 28-yard run brought the Colts into a goal-to-go set of downs, though penalties on Quenton Nelson and Michael Pittman Jr. backed the offense up to the 23-yard line.

Richardson briefly exited the game after being sacked on second-and-goal from the 23; backup Joe Flacco handed off to Taylor on third down.

Stroud was able to hold off the Colts, though, with a 28-yard completion to wide receiver John Metchie III on second-and-19 pushing the Texans into field goal range. Fairbairn connected on a 34-yard field goal to put Houston back up by 10 with just over 12 minutes left.

The Colts struck back, though, with Downs' spectacular grab on a third-and-10 moving the ball to the Texans' one-yard line. Taylor punched in a touchdown two plays later, bringing the Colts back within three midway through the fourth quarter.

Mixon powered the Texans into Colts' territory on the ensuing possession as time evaporated off the clock. A pass interference penalty negated a Kenny Moore II pass break-up on third down; Mixon gained 21 yards on the next play, putting Houston into a goal-to-go set of downs with just over three minutes left.

Disaster struck the Texans when Mixon couldn't corral a pitch, with Odeyingbo ripping the ball away. Odeyingbo ran the length of the field for a touchdown, and though that was called back, the Colts took over possession at their own 18-yard line with three minutes left.

The Colts went three-and-out, and with just two timeouts left, all Houston had to do was pick up a first down to seal the game. They didn't, giving the ball back to the Colts on the nine-yard line with 54 seconds left.