Insider: 11 things to watch in, and instead of, Colts-Texans

INDIANAPOLIS — A disastrous Colts season has finally reached its merciful end.

And the work of rebuilding this franchise is about to begin in earnest.

Before that happens, Indianapolis has one game left to play, a lightweight matchup of a season finale against the woeful Houston Texans at 1 p.m. Sunday in Lucas Oil Stadium.

Outside of individual milestones, there’s not a lot of intrigue in the matchup between the Colts (4-12-1) and the Texans (2-13-1), and with that in mind, this is both a look at what to watch in Sunday’s game … and what to watch instead of the game.

Who is starting at quarterback for the Colts?

1. Sam Ehlinger, the Colts’ starting quarterback on Sunday, is the passer most likely to still be a part of the Indianapolis roster next season, and this game against the Texans represents one last chance to take a look at the second-year quarterback as a starter. Ehlinger, who has completed 62.1% of his passes for 364 yards, one touchdown, one interception and 5.5 yards per attempt while taking 12 sacks, is still learning to get his throws out on time, but he played well enough against Washington to think the Colts might have an NFL quarterback on their hands, even if he's a backup. Ehlinger’s long been known for his intangibles; this is another chance to prove he can play.

2. Then again, the season finale between the Vikings and Bears could have a big impact on the Colts’ future, and anybody whose thoughts have already turned to the draft might want to keep one eye on an NFC North matchup that’s not going to have a lot of sizzle around the NFL. The Colts currently hold the No. 5 pick in the draft, the Texans are in position for No. 1 and the Bears No. 2. If the Bears (3-13) lose Sunday’s game to Minnesota — Chicago is starting backup Nathan Peterman instead of Justin Fields — a Texans win over the Colts would push the Bears into the No. 1 spot, and that would give Indianapolis a puncher’s chance to move up to make sure it gets the future quarterback of their dreams. Chicago already has Fields; if the Bears get the No. 1 pick, there’s a good chance that pick would be up for sale.

Colts draft pick:Where will the Colts pick in the 2023 NFL Draft?

Where will the Colts pick in the 2023 NFL Draft

3. The other two teams in the draft’s top five — Seattle, holding Denver’s pick, is at No. 3, and Arizona’s currently No. 4 — play in the 4:25 slot, so Colts fans who want to squeeze every spot possible out of the draft might be tempted to stop into a sports bar for the late afternoon games and cheer for a rise up the draft board, at least if the Colts lose the game. The team that was originally in the No. 6 slot, the Los Angeles Rams, also plays at 4:25, and their spot will go to the Detroit Lions by way of the trade for Matthew Stafford.

4. One of the best things about this admittedly dismal Colts season has been the breakthrough for Zaire Franklin, an incredible team leader who finally got his chance to play in one of the top two linebacker roles this season and ran with it. Franklin now has a chance to break Shaquille Leonard’s franchise record of 163 tackles in a season, set during Leonard’s rookie season in 2018. Franklin, a seventh-round pick in the same draft class that landed Leonard, sits at 159, meaning he needs just five tackles on Sunday to make the record his own, and in a season with few Colts positives, Franklin deserves to be celebrated if he does the expected and breaks the record.

What should I watch instead of the Colts?

5. Feeling like another sport might be in order? No need to remind anybody that Indiana plays Northwestern at noon Sunday, but that game’s not going to be enough to get through the entire 1 p.m. window of NFL games. If that’s the shot, looks like UCF-SMU at 2 p.m. and Cincinnati taking on No. 2 Houston at 3 p.m. wouldn’t be bad chasers. Then there’s enough time for a quick nap before the Purdue-Penn State game at 6 p.m.

6. Wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. is only four catches away from becoming the first Colt to reach the 100-catch mark since his position coach, Reggie Wayne, pulled in 106 balls in 2012. Wayne added a little bit more to the challenge earlier this week by saying that he believes 1,000 yards is a better marker, and even though that’s a little bit further away, Pittman Jr. could reach the barrier for the second consecutive season if he picks up 105 yards against Houston.

7. “Glass Onion,” Rian Johnson’s second entry in the Benoit Blanc series of murder mysteries, is on Netflix, and it’s pure entertainment, from Daniel Craig’s hilarious impression of a Southern accent to Janelle Monae’s tour de force performance to Kate Hudson reveling in the role of chewing through scenery every time she’s on screen.

8. Another piece of good news for the Colts is that the team’s top two draft picks, wide receiver Alec Pierce and tight end Jelani Woods, have shown they have the potential to be game-breaking weapons in the future. Sunday’s game against the Texans is their last chance this season to get Indianapolis excited about the passing attack of the future. Pierce and Woods have been up and down this season, but when they’ve been up, it’s often been exciting.

9. Amazon released the third season of “Jack Ryan” right before Christmas, and if there hasn’t been enough time to binge it yet, there’s a three-hour window on Sunday that might hit the spot. Not as comedic as “Glass Onion,” but it’ll get the heart pounding a bit, and it’s not going to skimp on the action.

10. Undrafted free agent Dallis Flowers has been an electric kick returner, averaging 33.0 yards per return on 19 chances after taking the job over from Isaiah Rodgers. Maybe this is the game Flowers finally breaks free, and no matter how this Colts season has gone, there’s nothing like watching a kick return for a touchdown.

11. As bad as it’s been this season, there are plenty of Colts who deserve credit for the way they’ve played. Parris Campbell finally got a chance to show what he can do, and despite the passing game’s ineffectiveness, Campbell (57 catches, 581 yards) has a shot at a 60-catch season. DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart have been monsters in the middle of the defense. Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo have shown enough to think they can be key pieces of the defensive line rotation going forward. Veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore, if he’s able to play through a wrist injury, could beat the odds and the critics by playing in all 17 games, on almost every snap — he’s played 99% of the defensive snaps so far — and playing at a Pro Bowl level. Rookie free safety Rodney Thomas II came out of nowhere as a seventh-round pick out of Yale and established himself as a starting free safety in the NFL. Kicker Chase McLaughlin is 29 of 35 overall and 8 of 11 on kicks of 50 yards or more, the best mark from that distance of any Colts kicker in history. Linebacker Bobby Okereke and strong safety Rodney McLeod have been rocks for the defense this season, and they might not be back in 2023. This Colts season has been a disaster; that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any performances worth appreciating.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts vs. Texans: 11 things to watch in, and instead of Sunday's game