Colts 28, Texans 16
Rookie Andrew Luck threw a pair of touchdown passes and host Indianapolis rode a wave of emotion in coach Chuck Pagano's return to the sideline to derail Houston's bid for a No. 1 overall seed and a first-round bye.
Deji Karim returned a kickoff 101 yards as the Colts (11-5), despite having nothing to play for, turned in an inspired effort in Pagano's first game back since undergoing three months of treatment for leukemia.
Luck's 70-yard scoring pass to fellow rookie T.Y. Hilton with 11:22 to play opened a 12-point lead and supplied the dagger for the Texans (12-4), who lost three of their final four and fell to 0-11 all-time in Indianapolis.
Matt Schaub threw for 276 yards and two interceptions for Houston, which held top spot in the AFC for nearly the entire season but slipped to No. 3 after Denver and New England both won later Sunday. The Texans will host sixth-seeded Cincinnati next week.
The Colts were already locked into the No. 5 seed and will play next week at Baltimore - the team from which they hired away Pagano in the offseason to be their head coach.
Pagano received a standing ovation and video tribute from the fans at Lucas Oil Field prior to kickoff and his players responded by going 75 yards on the opening drive, capped by Luck's 1-yard pass to Coby Fleener. The Colts briefly relinquished the lead in the third quarter as Houston scored 10 straight points, but Karim's burst up the middle untouched on the ensuing kickoff return to put Indianapolis ahead to stay.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Texans RB Arian Foster, who scored his league-best 17th TD overall and 15th on the ground, patted the "Chuckstrong" banner hanging at the back of the end zone after his third-quarter scoring run. ... Colts WR Reggie Wayne had four catches for 40 yards and extended his own league record with his 64th consecutive game with at least three receptions. ... Houston WR Andre Johnson had 12 receptions for 141 yards to tie New England's Wes Welker for the most 10-catch games in NFL history with 18. He also joined former Colts standout Marvin Harrison as the only players to register 100 receptions and 1,500 yards on three occasions.