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HOUSTON -- Houston Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney busted through a feeble attempt to block him by Indianapolis Colts tight end Dwayne Allen, a smaller man overmatched against the Texans' powerful defensive end. Clowney then drilled Colts quarterback Andrew Luck in the back while simultaneously chopping the football out of his hand, delivering a pivotal sack and forced fumble that helped propel the Texans to a 22-17 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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The fumble recovered by outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus was one of a season-high three turnovers forced by the Texans Sunday. The Texans hit Luck a season-high 13 times as safeties Quintin Demps and Andre Hal intercepted the former Stratford standout twice.
"The play before that they tried to block me with the tight end, and I stood him up, stopped him for the run," Clowney said. "They tried to come back with the same play. This time, they tried to pass. I went around him, put a step on him, went around him and got a sack and tried to strip the ball."
By virtue of Clowney's sack on third down with the Colts threatening to score at the Houston 3-yard line, the Texans preserved a 16-10 lead. Clowney finished with three tackles, the Texans' lone sack and three quarterback hits.
Considering the impact the sack made on the game's outcome, which enabled the Texans to sweep their division rival for the first time in franchise history and remain in first place in the AFC South, Clowney acknowledged it was the biggest play of his career.
"Yeah, I do agree," Clowney said. "It was a big play in a critical moment of the game. Finished this one out."
Clowney, the top overall pick of the 2014 draft, made his return from elbow and wrist injuries that prompted the Texans to hold him out of the loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Clowney had his wrist examined after the game against the Colts and said it felt fine.
"The guys, all week long, they were telling me, 'We miss you and we need you back out there,'" Clowney said. "So to come out here and make a big play like that to help us win the game was big for us."
Clowney has four sacks for the season and 13 tackles for losses. Criticized in the past for his lack of durability, Clowney has started all but one game this season. He has been a major component of a defense that entered Sunday ranked sixth in total defense despite the season-ending back injury suffered by star defensive end J.J. Watt.
"My confidence has been high since I got here," Clowney said. "I always knew I could play this game. I just had to be healthy."
-- Forced to shuffle personnel and configurations due to injuries, the Texans' offensive line still delivered a formidable blocking performance Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
During the 22-17 win, the Texans rushed for 185 yards on 41 carries and averaged 4.5 yards per run as running back Lamar Miller rushed for 107 yards on 21 carries.
The Texans started Oday Aboushi at left guard with regular starter Xavier Su'a-Filo dealing with a broken finger. When right guard Jeff Allen suffered a concussion, Aboushi shifted to right guard and Su'a-Filo went into the game at left guard.
"I really enjoy being around that group of guys," said Texans coach Bill O'Brien, who praised offensive line coach Mike Devlin. "I don't think it's the easiest thing here to play for us. We demand a lot.
"They're led by Duane Brown. Those guys did a good job. I thought Aboushi went in there and played well. I thought Xavier when he went in there really played physical and played well."
Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler was sacked twice and hit three times, but the Texans' pass protection is generally solid and the run blocking has been good.
"Just a gutty performance by guys up front," Brown said. "A lot of guys playing banged-up. We were able to kind of impose our will on them there in the fourth quarter, which is always a good feeling."
