Schwarzes Brett » HOUSTON (AP) — Indianapolis receiver T.Y. Hilton

missed multiple practices with a shoulder injury in the week leading up to Sunday’s trip to NRG Stadium for a critical AFC South matchup. The Colts said his status was up in the air.Hilton knew he couldn’t possibly miss a game at a place where he’s had more success than any receiver since the stadium opened in 2002.He played https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Marshall-Faulk-Jersey , and in Indianapolis’ 24-21 win over Houston, Hilton had 199 receiving yards and Andrew Luck threw for 399 yards and two touchdowns.“This is my second home, man,” Hilton said, laughing. “This is my second home. I don’t know. Every time I come here, I just go off. I don’t know what it is.”Hilton entered as the all-time leader in receiving yards per game at NRG Stadium with 122.3 yards and finished Sunday just shy of 200 yards with nine catches on 12 targets. In seven career games in Houston, Hilton has topped 100 yards four times, with three of those for more than 175 yards.The Colts (7-6) snapped a nine-game winning streak by the Texans (9-4), trimming Houston’s lead over the AFC South to two games with three remaining.Luck said throughout the week, the Colts were seeing things in the Texans’ defense that led them to believe Hilton’s “speed and maneuverability” could again be a key to success in Houston.“Once we got that first one, it was like, ‘OK, here we go,'” Luck said. “When T.Y.’s in the zone, he’s in a zone, man. It’s fun to play with him and it’s an honor to play with him.”Hilton’s performance gave him his 11th 150-yard game, setting a franchise record. He has also topped 800 receiving yards for a seventh consecutive season, the longest active streak in the NFL.The Colts started slow and didn’t have a first down until early in the second quarter. They went to a no-huddle offense and found momentum on that drive before a pass from Luck was tipped by Kareem Jackson and intercepted by Andre Hal.Indianapolis finally ended a lengthy scoring drought after a 60-yard completion to Hilton set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Marlon Mack.The Colts entered Sunday having allowed just 14 sacks, second only to New Orleans. Houston’s usually menacing pass rush was largely neutralized with just two sacks from J.J. Watt and Christian Covington after being held without a sack against Cleveland last week.“They did a good job, they played good football,” Watt said. “T.Y. obviously had a huge day. We knew going in that’s a guy we had to stop and we didn’t. That’s on everybody. Luck did a good job spreading it around, guys got open and he found them. We have to play better.”Indianapolis’ defense, on the other hand, gave Houston fits both in the passing and running game. The Colts sacked Watson five times for a loss of 41 yards and held Houston’s rushing offense to just 89 yards on 25 carries.“There was a confidence all week Eric Ebron Jersey ,” Reich said. “What was best about this was, we expected to win this game. We really did.”Watson had 267 yards passing and 35 yards rushing. Tight end Ryan Griffin led Houston receivers with 80 yards on five catches, while Hopkins was held to 36 yards on four catches.“We’re good. I mean, it’s the NFL — every game is tough,” Watson said. “It’s tough to go on a two-game winning streak. We went on nine. Today it ended, but it’s a new task to put this game behind us. Next week, we’re 0-0 and we’ll try to get 1-0. It’s no panic button for us. We’ll keep moving and try to flip the script next week and get back to the winning column.”Houston cut Indianapolis’ lead to 24-21 with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to DeAndre Hopkins with less than three minutes remaining. With the Colts facing a critical third-and-1 at midfield, Luck drew Jadeveon Clowney offside to secure a first down and the win.Clowney refused to comment when approached by reporters.Houston scored first on a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Alfred Blue. The Colts then scored 17 straight before Houston opened the third quarter with a long drive to a 1-yard touchdown run on a direct snap to Lamar Miller to cut the Colts’ lead to 17-14.The Colts took a 14-7 lead late in the first half on a 14-yard pass from Luck to Eric Ebron. It was Luck’s fourth straight touchdown pass to a tight end, three of which went to Ebron.Luck had not thrown a touchdown pass to a non-tight end since the Nov. 18 win over Tennessee until the third quarter, when he found receiver Zach Pascal for a 12-yarder to put the Colts up 24-14.Indianapolis had a 54-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri as time expired in the second quarter to take a 17-7 halftime lead. During Houston’s winning streak, the team never trailed at halftime.“I don’t like what happened today, but I’m fine with where we are,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “This is the NFL. We did not do a good enough job today. The Colts did a much better job than us. There’s a lot of football left.”PLAYOFF RACEIndianapolis will host the Cowboys and Giants before closing out the season in Tennessee, while Houston visits the Jets and Eagles before hosting Jacksonville in the finale.HOPKINS’ MILESTONEWith a 10-yard reception in the third quarter, Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins topped 7,000 receiving yards in his career. At 26 years, 6 months, 3 days, Hopkins became the second-youngest player in NFL history to surpass 7,000 yards, behind only Larry Fitzgerald who was 26 years, 3 months and 20 days when he reached the mark.EBRON IN THE END ZONEWith his 12th receiving touchdown of the season, Colts tight end Eric Ebron set a franchise record for the position. The record was previously held by Dallas Clark. Ebron also has one rushing touchdown on the season. In four seasons with the Lions, Ebron totaled 11 touchdown catches and one rushing touchdown.ASTROS IN ATTENDANCEHouston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman Matt Slauson Color Rush Jersey , infielder/outfielder Marwin Gonzalez and pitcher Lance McCullers were all in attendance, with Bregman wearing a custom No. 2 Texans jersey with his name on the back. Bregman also briefly played catch with Watt on the sidelines during pre-game warmups.INJURIESTexans receiver and kick returner Deandre Carter left in the first quarter and was later ruled out with a concussion. . Colts right guard Mark Glowinski was carted to the locker room in the second quarter with an ankle injury.UP NEXTColts: Host the Cowboys next Sunday.Texans: Visit the Jets next Saturday. KANSAS CITY, Mo. 鈥斅燭he Kansas City Chiefs' defense had heard the chorus of critics all season long, the ones that claimed their sieve-like line and shaky backfield would spoil young superstar Patrick Mahomes and cost them a chance to chase their first Super Bowl appearance in decades.Well, that defense is a big reason why the Chiefs are one step away.With persistent snow turning Arrowhead Stadium into a winter wonderland, the Chiefs successfully shut down Andrew Luck and the potent Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.Mahomes and the rest of their own high-powered offense took care of the rest, rolling to a 31-13 victory in the divisional round to end 25 years of playoff frustration."We're such a different team," said Mahomes, who threw for 278 yards while running for a score. "We have such young players. We have such confidence we're going to win every single game."Damien Williams ran through snow and muck for 129 yards and another score, and Tyreek Hill had 72 yards receiving and a touchdown run, as the Chiefs beat Indianapolis for the first time in five playoff meetings to earn their first AFC title game appearance since January 1994.The AFC West champions will play the winner of Sunday's game between the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots next weekend for a spot in the Super Bowl in Atlanta."We wanted to light up the city," Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said. "We didn't want to take the road down memory lane."Andrew Luck was held to 203 yards passing for the Colts, while Marlon Mack was a non-factor on the ground. He had 46 yards rushing before leaving late in the fourth quarter with a hip injury."Was not expecting it to end today," Colts coach Frank Reich said. "We knew we were going up against a very good team, a very well-coached team. It's hard to lose. It's hard to lose when you've come this far with the team that we have and the guys that we have, so credit to the Chiefs."They outcoached us, they outplayed us," Reich said. "We just gave them too many opportunities."The Chiefs set out to change history from the opening minutes, when they forced a three-and-out and then waltzed right over a Colts defense that nearly shut out the Texans a week ago. Mahomes and Co. scored on their first three possessions, then again just before halftime, to take a 24-7 lead.If there was any question whether this would be Kansas City's day, it was answered when Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri missed a 23-yard field-goal try off the upright just before halftime. It was the first time in 22 postseason attempts that he'd missed from that close.Not that the Chiefs thought they had it wrapped up.They've had bigger playoff meltdowns against the Colts.There was the 10-7 loss in which Lin Elliott missed three field goals when the Chiefs were the No. 1 seed, and the loss at Arrowhead Stadium in 2003 in which nobody punted. Five years ago, they blew a 38-10 second-half lead against Luck and the Colts to spoil Andy Reid's first season.Not this time.Not with this Kansas City quarterback.After shattering nearly every franchise passing record https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Anthony-Walker-Jersey , Mahomes picked up right where he left off in his regular-season finale. He led the Chiefs on touchdown drives of 90 and 70 yards to open the game, quickly identified a favorite target in Travis Kelce, and shook off a banged-up knee to scramble for a touchdown late in the first half to give his team a big cushion.Of course, the Chiefs (13-4) didn't need it the way their defense was playing.The Colts (11-7) went three-and-out on their first four possessions, were outgained 185-12 in the first quarter, and Luck didn't complete a pass until he found T.Y Hilton early in the second.Their lone bright spot came when Zach Paschal recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown.Even when the Colts caught a break and Sammy Watkins fumbled the ball to them late in the third quarter, they were quick to give it back. Dee Ford stripped Luck and fellow linebacker Justin Houston plopped on the ball, ruining another red-zone opportunity."It seemed like the rushers were getting there all night," Chiefs cornerback Kendall Fuller said. "Guys sticking coverage, playing good technique, good eyes and things like that."The Colts finally scored an offensive touchdown with 5:31 left in the game. But in the perfect summation of their lousy afternoon, their erstwhile star kicker missed the extra point.By that point, the party in the stands already had begun.The Chiefs had lost six straight home playoff games, including heartbreakers to Pittsburgh and Tennessee the past two years. But a proud franchise that won its only Super Bowl title with Len Dawson in 1970, and last played for a spot behind Joe Montana, is once more one step away."I'm just happy for these guys in this locker room," Kelce said. "Playoff wins are hard to come by, let alone wins in the NFL. So, I mean, it's just exciting for us to be able to play next week."100View Gallery Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj MehtaSNOWBALL FIGHTReid was summoned to the corner of the stadium during the two-minute warning in the first half to implore fans to stop throwing snowballs on the field. Earlier in the half, one almost hit Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez while he was kicking.INJURIESColts: Center Ryan Kelly (knee) left late in the fourth quarter. … FS Malik Hooker (foot) and DE Tyquan Lewis (knee) were inactive, while SS Mike Mitchell (calf) was placed on injured reserve earlier this week. That left the Colts defense without some key pieces.Chiefs: Safety Eric Berry (heel) and running back Spencer Ware (hamstring) were inactive, though Berry 鈥?the team's emotional leader 鈥?broke down the pregame huddle in the north end zone.UP NEXTChiefs: Await the Chargers-Patriots winner in the AFC title game.Colts: Begin preparing for April's draft.