Texans’ Nico Collins delivers another big game in win over Colts, scores game-winning touchdown: ‘Shows up, makes plays’

INDIANAPOLIS – There wasn’t a fancy name for the slick play call that set up Texans wide receiver Nico Collins’ game-winning tochdown run.

“Nah, just reverse,” Collins said with a smile inside the Texans’ victorious locker room Sunday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Collins lined up wide, split to the right and accelerated into a handoff from quarterback C.J. Stroud after he froze the defense with a play-action fake to rookie running back Woody Marks.

From there, Collins simply followed his blocking as tight end Dalton Schultz and wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson ran interference for him on a seven-yard touchdown run on a reverse that put the Texans ahead for good in a pivotal 20-16 AFC South win.

The play design from offensive coordinator Nick Caley and the execution from Collins and his teammates were on point.

“Yeah, it was a great call, man,” Collins said. “We were running the ball great, and coach gave me the opportunity to run it in, and had to take advantage of it.”

Collins entered Sunday with a heavy track record of success against the Colts, entering Sunday with 28 catches for 538 yards and two touchdowns. Collins had five catches for 98 yards on a team-high 10 targets. That included a 29-yard reception.

Getting the football to Collins was a point of emphasis in the game plan. Collins has 31 catches for 456 yards and one touchdown combined over the past five games.

The reverse play was right up his alley.

“Yeah, that was a nice play, nice play design by Caley,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. Those guys worked that all week, and it was a really cool design, but better execution by the guys who were blocking for Nico to allow him to get in the end zone.

“Nico had a couple plays. We tried to get him the ball a lot. He shows up anytime we need him. He shows up for us and makes plays. That’s what he’s been doing.”

Collins and Stroud got back into an easy rhythm as the quarterback returned from a concussion that kept him out for the previous three games. It was as if Stroud and Collins hadn’t missed anytime together.

“Man, it’s a blessing,” Collins said. “I’m glad my dog is back. You only get one brain. You’ve got to take care of that. But, man, just to come back to the game that he loves the most, it’s no better feeling. So, I’m glad my dog is back and he just keeps going.”

Collins has caught 57 passes for 795 yards and four touchdowns, gaining momentum after a slow start to the season.

He’s up to 275 career receptions for 4,025 receiving yards, becoming the fifth player in franchise history to do so, joining Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins, Kevin Walter and Owen Daniels.

“Wow,” Collins said. “It’s a blessing. It’s a league where you want to hit milestones and, man, to me it’s a blessing for sure. I want to continue to grow and chase greatness and continue to be myself and not let the moment be bigger than it is.”

The moment for the Texans is arriving at the right time.

This marked their fourth consecutive win, their fourth consecutive one-score victory, too. They are now 7-5 and one game behind the Jacksonville Jaguars and Colts in the AFC South division race. The Texans have battled back from a rocky start, turning around their season after an 0-3 mark to begin the year.

“I feel like just at this part of the season, man, every game matters for us,” Collins said. “We know what our mission is. We’ve got to finish the season the way we want to and go into every game with a mission to win, come out with a dub. We knew what type of team this was coming in, division team. Indy, one hell of a team. And so we had to come in and bring our A-game.

“It means a lot, man. We know it’s not easy to close out a game in the NFL. You’ve really got to play all four quarters, no matter what. And the way we finished today, it was great. Great feeling, on the road. Indy’s a great team, so we know how much this win meant.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com