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C.J. Stroud #7 of the Houston Texans warms up before a game against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Houston Texans are looking to win a third straight AFC South crown in 2025 for the first time in franchise history, but Indianapolis Colts safety Camryn Bynum is planning to make them earn it.
The NFL’s announcement of the 2025 regular season schedule revealed the Texans and Colts will face off in Weeks 13 (at Indianapolis) and 18 (at home in NRG Stadium).
Bynum signed with the Colts in free agency this offseason and is “looking forward” to the latter.
“It’s smart they put it at 18, because they know that’s going to be the game that decides it all,” Bynym told Kay Adams on “Up & Adams” on May 23. “I’ve heard [about the rivalry] and, especially just from guys and just talking to guys on both teams, they’re saying ‘Yeah, that’s the game that’s like – that’s the one where everybody’s energy is crazy. Super lit, trash talk, everything, just because we know that that’s the one that’s up for the division.’”
We’ve got a BIG ONE today in Houston between the Colts and the Texans #NFLGameDay
Bynum was not solely stoking the competitive fire, though. He also praised the Texans, whom he faced and beat 34-7 with the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3 last season. He called the Texans a “really good” and “stacked team.”
“I’m excited for that one, for sure,” Bynum said.
Those meetings will be the 48th and 49th of the series, which is among the shortest in the NFL, dating back to the Texans’ inception in 2002.
Colts Still Texans’ Big Brother
GettyCamryn Bynum #24 of the Minnesota Vikings reacts against the Houston Texans.
The Texans have beaten the Colts in three straight meetings and four of their last five head-to-heads.
The two teams played to a tie in their first meeting of the 2022 season. And before that, the Colts had won four straight showdowns and nine of their last 11. Indianapolis still has a 33-13-1 lead in the series all-time.
C.J. Stroud lost his first meeting against the Colts but has turned it around since then.
Conversely, the Colts are back in QB purgatory.
Anthony Richardson, whom the Colts drafted two slots after Stroud went to the Texans, remains on the roster. However, his role is unclear after losing his starting job to Joe Flacco, who signed with the Cleveland Browns in free agency, while the Colts signed Daniel Jones.
Jones was the No. 6 pick by the New York Giants in 2019 and spent part of the 2024 season as Bynum’s teammate on the Vikings.
C.J. Stroud, Texans Have Beat Up on AFC South
GettyC.J. Stroud #7 of the Houston Texans warms up before a game against the Indianapolis Colts.
The next step for Stroud and the Texans is to be as effective against non-AFC South teams as they are when facing their most familiar opponents, like the Colts. Stroud is 8-3 against the AFC South in his two seasons.
He is 11-10 against the 19 other teams from various divisions.
Stroud and the Texans are 14-8 against the AFC. But they are 5-5 against the NFC, whom they face less often and would not see in the playoffs before the Super Bowl.
Every C.J. Stroud throw of 20+ air yards from a clean pocket in 2024:
That unfamiliarity may have played a part in the Texans’ record against the NFC. Those losses have not helped the Texans regarding playoff seeding in the tightly contested AFC. One or two more wins against the NFC each year could help the Texans with playoff seeding.
A higher seed means a weaker opponent in the postseason.
After back-to-back Divisional Playoff losses, the Texans need to secure wins against the Colts, the rest of the AFC South, the NFC, and any other team in their way to a top seed.
