INDIANAPOLIS — — The Houston Texans have invested heavily in the offseason to give CJ Stroud additional scoring opportunities.

It is already delivering major benefits.

Stefon Diggs caught two touchdown passes and Joe Mixon ran for 159 yards and another score in their Houston debuts, helping the Texans to a 29-27 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

“It’s everything to us,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said of his new tag-team tandem. “Those guys go out there and make plays, no matter the situation, like when you can count on those guys to make plays, it’s huge for our team, not just our offense, but what they’ve done for a whole team, the energy they’ve brought to our team, it’s amazing.”

In a sense, it was no different for Houston (1-0).

CJ Stroud was 24 of 32 with 234 yards and no turnovers as the reigning AFC South champions won their ninth straight road game in the division — at the same venue where they secured a playoff spot in Week 18 of last season.

Still, Mixon, who was acquired in a trade from Cincinnati, and Diggs, acquired in a trade with Buffalo, gave Houston a stronger look.

Diggs caught six passes for 33 yards with two touchdowns — a 9-yard score to give Houston a 12-7 lead it never relinquished and a 2-yard TD reception on fourth-and-goal to essentially seal the win with 4:42 to play.

Mixon had a career-high 30 carries and finished with his highest single-game rushing total since he rushed for 165 yards, a career-best, against Pittsburgh in November 2021, scoring on a 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter on the first play after a holding penalty negated a Colts interception.

“I’m finally being held to the player that I know I am,” Mixon said. “The guys are pushing me to keep this thing going. I’m just happy to be one of the front guys that’s really setting the tone and letting people know what it’s like to play against us.”

For the Colts (0-1) it was an all too familiar scenario.

They extended the longest active Opening Day without a win in the NFL, with three of their last four games coming against teams from within the division, including a 20-20 tie against Houston in 2022.

And although Anthony Richardson gave them a chance with two TD passes of 50-plus yards and a powerful 3-yard TD run with 2:14 to play, but Indy’s tired defense couldn’t get the ball back to Richardson.

Houston’s offense had the ball for 40 minutes.

“It’s going to be like that a lot of times, you know, there’s going to be a lot of one-score games,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said. “We’ve got to find ways at the end, both offensively and defensively, to make the plays in critical situations.”

But Mixon, Diggs, Stroud and Nico Collins just wouldn’t let that happen.

Collins played his third straight big game against the Colts, catching six passes for 117 yards, including one of 55 yards that set up Diggs’ first score. Ka’imi Fairbairn made three field goals of 50 or more yards.

It was simply too much for the Colts, who took a 7-3 lead when Richardson and Alec Pierce connected on a 60-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.

Diggs scored first to make it 12-7 and when Fairbairn started the second half with another field goal, the Texans extended their lead to 15-7.

The Colts capitalized on a blocked punt with a 5-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Taylor, but a failed 2-point conversion left Indy trailing 15-13.

Mixon responded with his touchdown run and after Richardson found Ashton Dulin for a 54-yard score, Diggs extended the lead to 29-20 with under five minutes to play.

Richardson was 9 of 19 for 212 yards and one interception, rushing six times for 56 yards. Taylor ran 16 times for 48 yards and Pierce finished with three catches for 125 yards as the Colts again fell short.

Strange ending

Houston won despite an unusual first-half ending that may have cost the team at least three points, when officials stopped the clock to review Dalton Schultz’s 7-yard reception after a spike.

When referee John Hussey announced that it was a catch and the clock would be reset to 15 seconds, Steichen called a timeout. Before play resumed, Hussey “apologized for the confusion,” lifted the timeout, and forced a 10-second runoff for review to reset the clock to 5 seconds as it began on his signal. But with the offense still on the field, Houston failed to get the ball before time expired.

“It’s our fault on the sideline,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We’ve got to get better.”

Problems with turf

Indianapolis installed new turf in the offseason, and both teams struggled to stay afloat. Stroud slipped on two consecutive plays on the Texans’ first series, and when Colts rookie Adonai Mitchell slipped on a screen pass in the first half, it messed up the timing. And Kylen Granson’s poor grip led to Calen Bullock’s interception at the Texans’ 8-yard line late in the first half.

Next

Texans: host Chicago next Sunday night.

Colts: Visit Green Bay next Sunday.

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