With Peyton Manning missing his first game since he started his NFL career, the Indianapolis Colts were defeated by the Houston Texans 34-7.  Kerry Collins went 16 of 31 for 197 yards and 1 TD, but the Colts didn’t find the end zone until halfway through the fourth quarter.  The Texans scored all 34 of their points in the first half, on rushing TDs by Ben Tate and Derrick Ward and a 79-yard punt return for a TD by Jacoby Jones.

GAME PREVIEW

When the Indianapolis Colts play the Houston Texans on Sunday, Kerry Collins will be the starting quarterback.  The last time the Colts took the field without Peyton Manning as their starter, it was 1997.  Bill Clinton was early in his second term, Michael Jordan was on his way to his fifth NBA title with the Chicago Bulls, and this year’s number one overall draft pick Cam Newton was 8 years old.

It was so long ago that the last quarterback to start before Peyton Manning has not only left football, but has coached the college and NFL ranks and is now an NFL head coach.  The answer to that bar trivia bet is Jim Harbaugh, currently head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

Manning was the first overall pick in the 1998 draft, which the Colts earned with their 3-13 mark the previous year.  Manning started the first game of his rookie year, and started 208 consecutive games since then.  That streak comes to an end on Sunday.

Kerry Collins is an experienced quarterback, having been in the league since 1995.  He has thrown for over 40,000 yards in his career, which includes stints with the Panthers, Saints, Giants, Raiders, and Titans.

But trying to fill Peyton Manning’s shoes is an impossible task.  The Colts team was built around Manning.  The Manning-led offense is designed to go no huddle for most of the game, with Manning surveying the defense and calling audibles at the line more than any quarterback ever has in the history of the game.

Plus, with Collins only having two weeks to learn the playbook, the offense is going to be very limited.  But the Colts are a proud team and don’t figure to lie down easily.  “I think as a team we have a little chip on our shoulder,” Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday told reporters this week.

“We need to go out and show the world that we can keep winning games and keep us in this playoff hunt until [Manning] finally does get back.”

The Houston Texans have been struggling to break the stranglehold that the Colts have had on the division.  The Colts have won at least 10 games every year since 2002, finishing first or second each year.  The Texans have never won the division, since their first year in 2002.

The Texans went 9-7 in 2009 before slipping back to 6-10 last year, and they feel that this is their year to win the division.  They have more offensive fire power, including Matt Schaub at quarterback, Andre Johnson at wide receiver and Arian Foster and Derrick Ward at running back.  Plus they continue to have a solid defense led by Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans.

For the Texans to win the division, they are going to have to start by taking down the Colts.  Facing them in week one is a huge advantage for the Texans, since Collins is likely to improve as the season progresses and as he has more time to learn the playbook.

Look for the Texans to jump out early and put the pressure on the Colts.

“We will be playoff bound. I don’t think there is really any other way for us to go,” Houston tight end Owen Daniels said during a recent interview with an Indianapolis radio station.

“We don’t really have a choice at this point. There will be a lot of changes made if we can’t get it done with this group.”