INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Houston’s Sage Rosenfels insists he’s tossed out the painful memories from his last start against Indianapolis.
That foolish attempt to go airborne, only to see Gary Brackett scoop up his fumble and score? Forgotten.
The thought of Robert Mathis stripping him for another fumble? Gone.
And the interception that ended Houston’s last-gasp chance? History.
For Rosenfels, those infamous final five minutes from Oct. 5 may be interminably replayed forever. It doesn’t mean anything to the Texans.
“That game is over, it was over a long time ago,” Rosenfels said. “I’ve put that out of my mind.”
Maybe not entirely.
While the Texans (3-6) recovered quickly after the October debacle, Rosenfels finds himself back in the starring role for this week’s sequel.
nally knocked out their old nemesis.
Now the Colts are trying to save their playoff hopes, the Texans are trying to recover from two straight losses and Schaub is out with a left knee injury, meaning Rosenfels has a shot at redemption Sunday.
“What that game does is give me confidence,” Rosenfels said. “I feel like I played, for the most part, pretty well against these guys and that gives me confidence to go out there and try to do that again, but just finish the game. Hopefully, the outcome will be reversed.”
It’s Rosenfels best hope to make everyone else forget the most painful chapter in the Texans’ most frustrating series.
In 13 games, the Texans own just one victory, courtesy of Kris Brown’s 48-yard field goal as time expired in 2006. They have never won in Indianapolis, have been outscored 399-226, and Peyton Manning has 31 touchdowns and just five interceptions against Houston.
The most recent game, however, will go down as the most disheartening for Houston. With a seemingly safe 17-point lead, Rosenfels’ impeccably bad timing allowed the Colts (5-4) to make a record-setting comeback.
And now, the Texans must come to Lucas Oil Stadium and face a resurgent Colts team that won its last two against New England and Pittsburgh. A third straight win would seem to right everything that has gone so wrong all season.
ooking at that (first Houston) game should take care of that,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said. “We have to continue to work and see if we can play better than we have the last couple of weeks and defend our home turf. It’s obviously a big game for us.”
Complacency is a word that hasn’t entered the Colts’ lexicon all season.
The five-time defending AFC South champions are four games behind unbeaten Tennessee in the division race, have already lost two home games and are well off their usual scoring pace. Manning, who has looked much better of late, is still trying to find a running game, and the defense, which is improving, is still allowing 133.8 yards on the ground.
Clearly, Indy expects better.
And, like Rosenfels, Sunday’s game provides Indianapolis with a second chance. The Colts don’t face another opponent with a winning record until the regular-season finale against Tennessee.
So taking care of Houston is a must.
“Somebody asked me if I thought we were turning the corner,” Manning said. “I think when you’re 5-4, there really aren’t corners out there. Hopefully, we can keep finding a way to win games. That’s all we’re trying to do at this point.”
The problems are far worse in Houston.
er harsher scrutiny, and then there is Rosenfels, who threw four more interceptions in last week’s 41-13 loss to Baltimore.
Manning understands the predicament.
“It’s one of those things where you make the play, and they say, ‘That’s what he had to do, he had to make a play,’ “ Manning said. “When you don’t make it, they say ‘That was wrong to do.’ That’s part of playing quarterback.”
The timing, again, couldn’t be worse.
This week’s rematch and Rosenfels’ third start of the season almost certainly rekindle all those ugly images – even if those around the Texans have cleared it from the memory bank.
“Sage will be fine,” Houston guard Chester Pitts said. “You move on and get ready for the next one. I promise you he’ll bounce back. He’ll play extremely well this weekend. I have the utmost confidence in that.”
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