Although Lovie Smith didn't lose his first game in charge of the Texans, he also came up empty-handed.
With 26 seconds left in overtime, the Texans faced a fourth-and-three at the Indianapolis 49. Smith chose to punt rather than try to gain a first down and position himself for a potential game-winning field goal, accepting the 20-20 tie.
The season of football still has a long way to go. Smith decided, "It's kind of as simple as that," the Houston Chronicle. "I believed that a tie was preferable to a possible defeat. In the end, we weren't really stopping them all that much.
Smith admitted that he thought about going for it, but the Texans had just lost two yards on a third-and-one situation at the Indianapolis 47. CBS analyst Tiki Barber questioned the third-down play decision.
Fans and the media criticized Smith for not playing to win with his fourth-down selection after the game.
It's not like we were playing our best defense at the moment, Smith remarked. "We were drained. We were a little gassed.
Since their 20-3 advantage with 7:16 left in the third quarter, the Texans had not scored. With 1:54 remaining in regulation, they permitted Matt Ryan to lead the Colts with 17 points in the fourth quarter, matching the score.
The Texans and Colts are in first place in the AFC South following Week 1, thanks to the Titans and Jaguars' losses.
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