Riley Leonard shows promise in first NFL start as Colts season ends with seventh straight loss

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The Indianapolis Colts closed the 2025 season with a 38-30 loss to the Houston Texans, spiraling to a seventh straight defeat and finishing with a losing record after a 7-1 start.

Rookie quarterback Riley Leonard made his first NFL start against the league’s most unforgiving defense, but Indy’s sixth round draft pick started dealing out the gate. Leonard threw for 270 yards and accounted for three total touchdowns, becoming the first player in franchise history to throw for a pair of scores while also rushing for a touchdown in his first start.

Houston entered the regular season finale as the NFL’s top defense in both points and yards allowed. The Texans largely lived up to that billing late, forcing a fourth-quarter interception and sealing the game with a fumble return touchdown as time expired. Leonard was credited with three turnovers that all led to Houston scores, but one was on the last play of the game as the Colts deployed a pitchy pitchy woo woo in an attempt to lateral the ball around, but Texans Tommy Togiai recovered the loose ball and plunged into the end zone as time expired.

Leonard wasted no time announcing himself to the scene. He launched a missile for his first pass that traveled 54.3 air yards and hit receiver Alec Pierce in stride for a 66-yard touchdown — which is the longest reception by a current Colts player this season (Adonai Mitchell’s goal line fumble was 75 yards). Pierce torched Houston’s vaunted secondary for 132 receiving yards and two touchdowns on just four catches before his controversial ejection.

The Colts led 7-3 early and leaned into creativity to sustain drives. Head coach Shane Steichen greenlit a fake punt midway through the first quarter, with punter Rigoberto Sanchez completing a 16-yard pass to Mo Alie-Cox. The Colts hurried to the line afterward, catching the Texans with too many men on the field to force a penalty and set up shop near midfield. Leonard ran the read option and marched into Texans territory with an 11-yard run that set up a 50-yard field goal from kicker Blake Grupe, who finished a perfect late-season run by making all three attempts in the finale.

Houston answered with consistency rather than explosiveness as quarterback C.J. Stroud repeatedly guided the Texans into scoring range. The stampede held firm early, forcing three field goals by Texans kicker Kaimi Fairbairn in each half. The Texans reached the end zone three times, but managed a touchdown on just one true offensive drive.

Leonard thrived when running play action, setting his feet to fire a 30-yard pass to receiver Josh Downs. The rookie signal caller commanded a 92-yard drive late in the second quarter that ended with his second touchdown pass to Pierce, an 8-yard strike that cut the deficit to 23-17 at halftime.

Pierce was nearly uncoverable, connecting again with Leonard for an explosive 53-yard reception early in the third quarter to set up Leonard’s 1-yard rushing touchdown and give Indianapolis a 24-23 lead. By then, Pierce had surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the season — the first time in his career — while he continues to cement his status as the league’s most effective target in yards per catch for the second straight campaign. Pierce will end the 2025 season leading the league averaging 20.3 yards per catch, two yards shy of the same feat he accomplished last season.

Pierce’s season ended abruptly in the third quarter after he was flagged and disqualified following a contested play in the end zone for making contact with the field judge, ending his afternoon and removing Leonard’s most dangerous weapon. The Colts settled for a field goal instead, then Houston reclaimed control behind Fairbairn’s steady leg and a timely interception by A.J. Huzzie early in the fourth quarter.

Leonard completed 21 of 34 passes, showing both the promise and growing pains expected from a rookie thrust into a the most difficult matchup of the season. Indianapolis briefly retook the lead with a field goal midway through the fourth, but Fairbairn answered twice more and the Texans’ defense delivered the final blow with a fumble return touchdown on the final play of the Colts’ campaign. Houston started the season 0-3, but finished the season with nine straight wins to claim the fifth seed.

For Indianapolis, the loss capped a season defined by constant transition and unanswered questions heading into the offseason. The Colts lost all seven games after the late BYE week to free fall out of the AFC playoff race. But amid a seven-game skid, Leonard’s debut and Pierce’s breakout provided a glimpse of what Indianapolis hopes can be a potential duo in 2026.

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