Texans at Colts
It's a three-team battle for the AFC North, with the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts all tied for the top spot at 6-6. The Texans, who already own one win over the Titans, can clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Colts when they host the showdown on Sunday.
Houston might be playing the worst football of the three teams at the moment, enduring a three-game losing streak due in large part to its lackluster offense. "We're still 3-0 in the division and we have a divisional game coming up this week," quarterback Brock Osweiler told reporters. "You can't worry about what's taken place in the past. All you can do is learn from it and make yourself better from it." Indianapolis' offense is back to operating in high gear with Andrew Luck out of the league's concussion protocol and is coming off a season-best 41-10 shellacking of the New York Jets on Monday. "We've always felt like we control our own destiny," Luck told reporters. "If we do something bad, there's no one to point the finger at but us. ... We know how important the next game is."
TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Colts -6. O/U: 46.5
ABOUT THE TEXANS (6-6): Osweiler is 31st in the NFL among 32 qualified quarterbacks with a 74.2 rating and is last in yards per attempt at 5.77, but coach Bill O'Brien put the team's struggles on himself after a 21-13 loss at Green Bay last week. "It comes down to eight to 10 plays a game, and a lot of that has to do with coaching," O'Brien told reporters. "We have to do a better job coaching and players have to do a better job executing, but we're all in it together and we all have to do a better job." Houston's defense has carried the team most of the season but is starting to spring leaks with defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (wrist/elbow) and cornerback Johnathan Joseph (ribs) sitting out practice this week.
ABOUT THE COLTS (6-6): Luck and the offense could be asked to do even more down the stretch with the defense losing middle linebacker D'Qwell Jackson to a four-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. Jackson, who is the signal-caller on defense and has recorded 78 tackles and a sack this season, is not eligible to return to the team until the day after the end of the regular season. "We're all disappointed," coach Chuck Pagano told reporters. "It is what it is. Moving forward, if we're fortunate enough to play good enough and win enough games, we'll get him back for the playoffs."
EXTRA POINTS
1. Colts rookie LB Antonio Morrison is expected to start in place of Jackson.
2. Houston WR Braxton Miller (shoulder) sat out practice on Wednesday and is questionable.
3. Osweiler threw for 269 yards and two TDs in a 26-23 overtime home win over Indianapolis in Week 6.