Texans' Rival Colts Banged Up Heading Into Home Stretch

As the Houston Texans enter a three-way race for the AFC South title, one contender in the Indianapolis Colts is dealing with a litany of injuries.

The AFC South, which once looked to be the Jacksonville Jaguars' for the taking, is now suddenly home to one of the most exciting divisional races in the NFL.

With the Jaguars losing three straight and the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts continuing to win, all three teams are surprisingly tied atop the division at 8-6 with three games each to go. The Jaguars are still ahead due to head-to-head tiebreakers, and they have the easiest remaining schedule of the three, but really, any of them could win the division crown.

As exciting as this race is shaping up to be, all three teams are dealing with significant injuries. Houston and Jacksonville's starting quarterbacks, C.J. Stroud and Trevor Lawrence, are dealing with injuries, but Indianapolis may be the most banged-up of them all.

C.J. Stroud against the Colts :: © Jenna Watson/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ahead of Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons, the Colts have been hit with a series of brutal injury updates. First, it was announced that Zack Moss, who's having a career year as Jonathan Taylor has dealt with injuries, will miss Sunday's Christmas Eve showdown with an arm injury. 

On top of that, their top receiver Michael Pittman Jr. is also out for the Atlanta game with a concussion. Both players sustained their respective injuries in last week's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Other key players, such as center Jack Anderson, linebacker Segun Olubi and offensive tackle Braden Smith, will also miss Sunday's game against the Falcons.

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On the plus side for the Colts, they will get Taylor back for the first time in nearly a month, but it comes at the cost of several other players missing time.

The Colts previously defeated the Texans 31-20 in Houston in Week 2. The two teams will meet again in Indianapolis, with a playoff spot and potentially the division crown on the line.