Kubiak collapses, Colts rally to beat Texans
HOUSTON — Houston coach Gary Kubiak collapsed leaving the field at halftime and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, and the Indianapolis Colts rallied for a 27-24 victory over the Texans on Sunday night.
Kubiak hunched over and dropped to his knees at the 24 yard line and was immediately surrounded by medical personnel. He was lifted off the field on a stretcher and taken by gurney to the ambulance.
The Texans didn’t say what was wrong with Kubiak, but did say he didn’t have a heart attack. The team said the 52-year-old coach was conscious and was with his family as he was taken to the hospital.
“He had an episode, he was light-headed and dizzy,” Texans general manager Rick Smith said after the game. “He was evaluated by a number of specialists ... he is awake and coherent.
“He went to a knee, and they laid him on the ground. He is stable; for precautionary reasons we wanted to get him to the hospital. We have to assess ... obviously, there’s a lot of info. Hopefully, Gary will be back with us tomorrow.”
Andrew Luck got off to a slow start before throwing three second-half touchdowns to T.Y. Hilton to overcome an 18-point halftime deficit and give the AFC-South-leading Colts (6-2) the victory.
Case Keenum threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns in his second career start, but had trouble moving the offense after halftime as the Texans, up 21-3 when Kubiak collapsed, lost their sixth straight game after opening the season 2-0 with Super Bowl hopes.
Houston had a chance to tie it, but Randy Bullock’s 55-yard field goal attempt as time expired sailed wide left.
The Colts took their first lead of the game when Hilton grabbed a 9-yard touchdown reception and Coby Fleener caught the 2-point conversion to make it 27-24 with 4 minutes left.
Bullock missed a field goal early in the fourth quarter and the Colts cut it to 24-19 when Luck found Hilton on a 58-yard touchdown pass two plays later.
Houston built the halftime on Keenum’s three touchdown passes to Andre Johnson. Johnson had 190 yards receiving at halftime, but just 39 yards after that.
The Colts scored nine points in the third quarter, highlighted by a 10-yard TD pass from Luck to Hilton on a third-and-10 to make it 24-12.
Adam Vinatieri kicked field goals of 30 and 35 yards in the second and third quarters for the Colts.
Keenum hit Johnson, who had gotten in front of Vontae Davis, for a 62-yard touchdown pass on the third play of the game to give Houston a 7-0 lead. It was the first touchdown reception of the year for Johnson.
J.J. Watt blocked a field goal attempt by the Colts on their first possession and rookie D.J. Swearinger returned it 37 yards.
But Houston couldn’t convert and Indianapolis got the ball back when Ben Tate was stuffed on fourth-and-1 from the Indianapolis 16.
Johnson added a 41-yard touchdown reception with 4:21 left in the first quarter. It marked the first time since 2010 that Johnson caught two TD passes in a game.
The Colts had a first down at the Houston 7 late in the first quarter after a 46-yard pass interference call on Kareem Jackson. But the Texans sacked Luck on second down and an incompletion on third down forced Indianapolis to settle for a 30-yard field goal that made it 14-3.
Johnson’s third touchdown came on a five-yard reception just before halftime.
Luck was sacked three times in the second quarter — twice on the Colts’ first drive of the period —— as Indianapolis struggled on offense early.
The Colts were playing their first game since losing star receiver Reggie Wayne for the season. Wayne tore his right ACL in an Oct. 20 win over Denver and had season-ending surgery.
Texans running back Arian Foster, who missed practice earlier in the week with a hamstring injury, left late in the quarter with a back injury and didn’t return.
Colts receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey was taken to the locker room in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a concussion.