The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts are playing live on the NFL schedule for Week 5 on Thursday night football and the game is on CBS and the NFL Network starting up past 8:25 pm ET. The game has Andrew Luck out with an injury and Matt Hasselbeck will start at NRG Stadium against Ryan Mallett in this AFC South division showdown.
The Colts come into the game at 2-2 after winning over the Jaguars last week and the Texans are now 1-4 after getting beat down by the Falcons in Week 4. The Colts had to win without Andrew Luck in the lineup and they will have to try and do it again on Thursday. Luck is dealing with a shoulder injury and he will be out for the second game in a row and that means Matt Hasselbeck will step in to start and try to get another win for the team.
Last week the team won in overtime and now they have the chance for another divisional win. The team could take some control in the AFC South, as all the teams in the division have started off slow and this would be a big victory without Andrew Luck being healthy enough to play again. Hasselbeck was listed as questionable for the game, but he is ready to start and he will go up against Ryan Mallett, who was replaced last week.
The Falcons took a huge lead on the Texans and Mallett was not playing well, which led to Bill O'Brien taking him out for Brian Hoyer. O'Brien said that Mallett deserved another chance to start and opted to stick with him despite replacing him last week. The Colts will have to worry about Arian Foster this time, as the Texans got him back for Week 4 and now he will have the chance to get increased work here in Week 5.
The game last week got out of hand and that forced the Texans to abandon the run, but it was probably for the best, as it was Foster's first game back from surgery. The Houston Chronicle reports that the team will be giving Foster an increased workload for this game and he could have a big game for the Texans depending on how things open up for the Colts, who are dealing with injuries on both sides of the ball.
Frank Gore comes in looking to get into a rhythm for the Colts, as he has been up and down over the first few weeks and he will be looking to get things right in Week 5. Andre Johnson will be facing his old team for the first time and so far this season Johnson has been a non-factor with just seven catches. Luck being injured has not helped, but players like TY Hilton and Donte Moncrief have priority over him ion the offense. Gore and Johnson were the big signings for the team this offseason.
Check here for the Colts and Texans live coverage.
Check here for the score, play-by-play, updates and stats for the game.