The Indianapolis Colts are fresh off an overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on primetime television as they enter divisional play against the Houston Texans.

The AFC South has granted the Colts a big opportunity to forget about their dreadful 0-2 start as the division has began the year with a collective 1-7 record, with the Jacksonville Jaguars serving as the only team to win a game in 2026.

But of course, the 0-2 Texans are in the same position.

There are plenty of storylines to pick from this important divisonal opener for both teams, and I'm taking the opportunity to highlight the three Indianapolis Colts-centric storylines I'll be watching on Sunday.

New-Look WR Room: Josh Downs De Facto WR1, Darius Slayton's Debut

The Indianapolis Colts are without top wide receiver Alec Pierce for the foreseeable future as he rehabs his left heel injury, the same one he had a clean-up procedure done on in the offseason.

Pierce remains off the injured reserve list despite his reported recovery timeline suggesting that he'll be out for at least four weeks, aka the length of a short-term IR designation, and now the Colts are left without their top receiving option.

But it doesn't end there, the Colts will also be without longtime special teams ace and reliable rotational wide receiver Ashton Dulin (ankle) for the second straight week.

In a corresponding move to Pierce's aggravated injury, the Colts signed veteran free agent wide receiver Darius Slayton earlier this week.

This move makes all the sense in the world, given that Slayton's threat as a downfield option (22% career explosive catch rate) and familiarity with starting quarterback Daniel Jones gives the Colts some much-needed assistance out wide.

Veteran newcomer Keenan Allen has largely been a disappointment thus far. Yes, off the field, but also on the field. Allen caught all six of his targets in his Colts debut, but he only netted 32 receiving yards in the process.

More recently, Allen caught just one of his five targets against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football, and served as a big reason why Daniel Jones threw his lone interception of the evening.

However, fourth-year wideout Josh Downs remains the Colts' definitive best option in the passing game moving forward. He's always been a reliable passcatcher, but Downs really shined against the Chiefs with Pierce sidelined, showing that he can be much more than just a slot receiver.

Downs caught seven of his nine targets for 72 receiving yards against the Chiefs, and now looks to serve as the Colts' de facto WR1 until Alec Pierce returns.

Will Jonathan Taylor Get Back To Dominating The Texans?

The Colts' rushing game has been the lone bright spot of the 2026 season so far.

If Indianapolis wants to reach their aspirations of making the postseason, even if that means beating up on what may just be another installation of the lowly AFC South, they need to assert themselves in a big way fast.

Overall, the Colts' offense has played well thus far, and a big reason for that is because they've leaned on star running back Jonathan Taylor and the aforementioned rushing attack that's done them right throughout the 2020s.

Continuing their slow but steady return to early 2025 form starts and ends with riding Taylor's coattails, and a Texans matchup is a promising start.

Taylor has proven to be one of the NFL's best running backs since he was drafted in 2020, and Houston has been one of the three teams to face him twice a season in each of the six seasons throughout.

Jonathan Taylor has regularly bested the Texans' run defenses over the years, sporting a career average of 107.5 rushing yards per game (5.2 yards per carry) and nine rushing touchdowns.

However, DeMeco Ryans' Texans defense has won the battle as of recent.

Taylor has rushed for 111 rushing yards and zero touchdowns on 35 carries over their last two matchups.

To be fair to Taylor, the first of his two showings in question saw him average four yards per carry, whereas his most recent performance, one that featured rookie quarterback Riley Leonard making his first start in a meaningless game, resulted in a brutal 1.9 yards per carry average.

Fast forward through two weeks in 2026, and the Houston Texans' run defense remains stout.

Houston has allowed just 85.5 rushing yards per game (6th-best), but they're also tied for second in most points per game allowed (28.0).

I'd suspect that Taylor finds his groove once more against the Texans with a much-needed rebound on the line.

Can This Colts Defense Rebound?

The Indianapolis Colts have allowed a league-worst 74 points, 1,029 yards, and 675 passing yards through two games in 2026.

The 1,029 total yards allowed are the 2nd-most through two games of a season in NFL history, according to Next Gen Stats — only the 2016 Raiders (1,035) allowed more, a team that finished 12-4 and made the postseason.

So while there's some silver lining to the Colts' historic showing out of the gate, it remains the most glaring issue after an 0-2 start to the regular season.

The Houston Texans are without top wideout Nico Collins (hamstring), which grants the Colts a massive opportunity to get their confidence back defensively.

This Colts defense is lacking a respectable pass rush, a competent linebacker tandem, and a secondary on the same page. Overall, they've looked like an incompetent unit, so outscoring CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans overall isn't enough.

Lou Anarumo's Colts defense needs to prove it can hang with the best of them, and starting by dominating an AFC South foe could be enough to get them back on track.

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