The Houston Texans’ season seems to be unraveling
at the worst possible time.

Rookie quarterback T.J. Yates and the vaunted defense struggled again Thursday night, and the playoff-bound Texans lost 19-16 to lowly Indianapolis, their second straight defeat after seven consecutive victories.

Houston (10-5) clinched its first AFC South title and playoff berth on Dec. 11, but has followed up with back-to-back poor performances.

The Texans lost 28-13 to Cam Newton and Carolina on Sunday, then couldn’t stop Dan Orlovsky from rallying the Colts in the fourth quarter.

Houston went 1-for-10 on third downs and committed a season-high 11 penalties to drop to 0-10 in Indianapolis.

The Texans wrap up the regular season at home against Tennessee on Jan. 1.

In week 16, I posted a 1-1 mark with my predictions for the AFC South division. The Tennessee Titans made me look good in beating the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the Houston Texans were surprisingly beaten by the Indianapolis Colts. Despite just a 2-3 record over the past two weeks, my overall record still stands at a respectable 34-14. Here is a look at how I think the teams in the division will fare against one another in the last week of the 2011 NFL season.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts:

As mentioned earlier, the Indianapolis Colts earned their second straight win, knocking off the Houston Texans 19-16. Dan Orlovsky played efficient, completing 23-of-41 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown, while the ground game totaled just 95 yards on 32 rushing attempts. Reggie Wayne also had a solid game for the Colts, hauling in eight catches for 106 yards, including the game-winning touchdown.

On the other side, we have a Jaguars’ team, who played the Titans close last week, but still came up a bit short. With rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert struggling, Maurice Jones-Drew has been forced to shoulder the offensive load for a majority of the season. Last week, Drew rushed for 103 yards on 24 attempts and caught six passes for 21 yards, while Gabbert threw for 198 yards, completing just 50 percent of his 42 passing attempts.

This game is difficult to predict because the Colts have been terrible against the run this season, which should favor the Jaguars. However, in week 15, they limited Chris Johnson to under 60 yards en route to their first victory on the season. In week 16, they gave up 158 yards to Arian Foster and the result was still a victory. I haven’t picked the Colts often this year, but I will give them the edge this week, especially if they do a good job of containing Jones-Drew.

Houston Texans vs. Tennessee Titans:

Two weeks ago, the Texans were 10-3 and were a strong contender for the top seed in the AFC. However, following two straight losses to the Carolina Panthers and the Colts, they have to settle for the third seed. With that being said, the Texans will probably be more concerned with resting their starters for the postseason instead of winning this game. The Titans on the other hand, will have a sense of urgency in this match-up because they still have a slim chance of making the playoffs. With that being said, I think the Titans will emerge victorious in this one.

James Tillman is a resident of the Chicago-land area who has been an NFL fan for over 20 years. James is also a fan blogger on Yahoo Sports and NJFFL Dynasty. For interesting topics on the NFL, NBA and MLB, follow him on Twitter @jtillman9693.

Sources:

Week 17 NFL Picks and Predictions

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

INDIANAPOLIS—

The Indianapolis Colts scored a touchdown in the final minute to stun AFC South rivals Houston 19-16 at Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday.

It was the second consecutive win for the Colts, who lost their first 13 games of a miserable season. The Texans (10-5), who have already clinched the division, suffered their second loss in a row.

With several key players out with injuries both teams struggled offensively, scoring one touchdown each.

The Colts continue to miss quarterback Peyton Manning, who has been out following off-season neck surgery and were without tight end Dallas Clark.

The Texans started T.J. Yates in place of injured quarterbacks Matt Schaub and Matt Leinhart and wide receiver Andre Johnson remains out with a hamstring injury.

Dan Orlovsky, starting in place of Manning, led the Colts on a 12-play, 78-yard scoring drive in the final two minutes of the game, capping the drive with a one-yard pass to Reggie Wayne in the corner of the end zone with 19 seconds left.

“He walks by my locker every day and says: ‘Throw left,’” Orlovsky told reporters. “He walked by me in pre-game tonight and said: ‘Throw left.’ I think he deserved the opportunity.”

The Texans scored their touchdown in the opening minute.

Brian Cushing sacked Orlovsky on the first play of the game and two plays later Arian Foster scored on a nine-yard run.

“I’ve got to give them a lot of credit,” Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said. “Dan (Orlovsky) did a great job on that last series.

“If we had made one more play on offense, or one more play on defense, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

In between the two touchdowns, the teams settled for field goals with Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri connecting on four of five attempts while Neil Rackers was three-for-three for the Texans.

In what looked like it would be merely a playoff tuneup, the Texans looked anything but ready in a 19-16 loss on Thursday night. They settled for two field goals in the red zone, didn’t convert a third down until getting a lucky bounce late in the fourth quarter and struggled to run late in the game after Arian Foster shredded the Colts defense for three quarters.

All this against a team that lost its first 13 games.

“We had chances to put it away,” Texans quarterback T.J. Yates said. “We couldn’t get it in the end zone. That’s very disappointing. We have to score more points.”

The Texans (10-5) committed 11 penalties for 84 yards, and many of them bailed the Colts out of trouble.

“We had four or five roughing calls,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. “We’ve got to go back and see why. We’ve got to be tough enough to fix those penalties.”

When Brian Cushing broke through the line on the game’s first play, sacking Dan Orlovsky and stripping the ball, it looked as if it could be a replica of the teams’ first meeting, a 34-7 blowout. Foster ran for 8 yards on the next play, then scored on a 9-yard burst off the left side to give Houston a 7-0 lead.

The Texans never reached the end zone again. Instead of getting a win against their longtime tormentors, they added a clip to Reggie Wayne’s highlight film.

Wayne, who has an expiring contract and might not return to Indy next season, caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Orlovsky with 19 seconds left, giving the Colts their only lead of the game.

It’s the second straight win for the Colts (2-13), who will now have to fight off St. Louis and Minnesota for the No. 1 overall draft pick. Orlovsky, who played the last two seasons with Houston, also won his second straight game after losing his first nine NFL starts.

Foster carried 23 times for 158 yards but the Colts repeatedly stopped the Texans’ runners in the red zone.

“We didn’t turn the ball over nearly as much as we did in that (first) game,” Caldwell said. “But beyond that, I think we were pretty good at protecting the ball. I think our defense played extremely well even though they ran for 171 yards. It was kind of a bend but don’t break defense, but when they had to stop them in the red zone, they stopped them in the red zone.

Nobody got into the end zone again until Orlovsky took the Colts 78 yards in the final two minutes, thanks in part to three costly Houston penalties, two of them against rookie defensive end J.J. Watt. After a pass interference call against Glover Quinn put the ball at the Texans 1, Orlovsky lobbed the ball into the corner of the end zone and Wayne beat the coverage to make the catch.

“All in all, it was a great team win,” Caldwell said. “When the offense needed a drive, we got it. When we needed a field goal we got it. When we needed a stop we got it.”

Orlovsky was 23 of 41 for 244 yards with the one TD. Joseph Addai ran 19 times for 59 yards.

Yates wound up 13 of 16 for 132 yards in a return to his hometown.

And this one go down as the final home game for not only Wayne and Orlvosky, but also key Colts cornerstones such as Jeff Saturday and Robert Mathis — and possibly even Peyton Manning, though Colts owner Jim Irsay told NFL Network that if Peyton Manning plays in 2012, it will be in Indianapolis.

NOTES: Before the game, Colts owner Jim Irsay told NFL Network that if Peyton Manning plays next year, it will be in Indianapolis. … Wayne also moved past Rod Smith for No. 18 on the NFL’s career receptions list. Smith finished with 849. Wayne now has 854. … Houston’s four-game winning streak came to an end. … Adam Vinatieri missed a 42-yard field goal just before halftime, ending his streak of 33 consecutive field goals made at Lucas Oil Stadium.

__

Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cliffbruntap

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.