Local News

Veterans Lead Colts Past Texans; Bears At KC; Packers Host Rams Sunday

34-year-old receiver Andre Johnson caught two touchdown passes from the 40-year-old Hasselbeck, the second for 2 yards in the fourth quarter, to help the Indianapolis Colts beat the Houston Texans 27-20.

Released by Houston in March after 12 seasons with the team, Johnson had six catches for 77 yards.

The Colts (3-2) extended their AFC South winning streak to an NFL-record 16 games.

 width=Hasselbeck was filling in for Andrew Luck, who missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury.

Brian Hoyer, who replaced Ryan Mallett for Houston (1-4) in the second quarter, threw a pass up for grabs that was intercepted by Mike Adams with less than 2 minutes left.

Johnson extended the lead to 27-17 with the 2-yard reception with about 10 1/2 minutes left. The Texans intercepted Hasselbeck's pass in the end zone earlier in that drive, but the play was negated because of defensive holding on Eddie Pleasant. A second penalty, this one for pass interference gave the Colts a first down at the 1.

Mallett got the wind knocked out of him on an illegal hit midway through the second quarter and was replaced by Hoyer. Mallett looked to be OK soon after that, but coach Bill O'Brien stuck with Hoyer. He finished with 312 yards passing with two touchdowns. Both of the touchdowns were to rookie Jaelen Strong and they came on his first two NFL receptions.

Arian Foster, who was shaken up in the second quarter but returned after halftime, had 44 yards rushing and 77 yards receiving in his second game back after groin surgery.

DeAndre Hopkins had 11 receptions for 169 yards for Houston.

T.Y. Hilton led the Colts with 88 yards receiving.

>>Bears Head To Kansas City

The fourth game of the season brought opposite feelings for the Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs.

Panic started to settle in for the Chiefs, who have lost three straight after a season-opening win. Relief finally came for the Bears, who avoided setting the longest losing streak in franchise history.

 width=Kansas City will try to keep the sky from falling Sunday against a Chicago team looking for its first road win since last October.

The Bears (1-3) didn't have any victories since November until a 22-20 win over Oakland last Sunday. It was the first win in the John Fox era, and he was happy to see his players enjoy it after getting outscored 74-23 in their previous two games.

Jay Cutler threw another fourth-quarter pick, his second in two full games and third overall, but he completed 5 of 8 passes for 41 yards during a game-winning drive that ended with Robbie Gould's 49-yard field goal with 2 seconds left.

Cutler returned from a hamstring injury suffered during a 48-23 loss to Arizona on Sept. 20, and top receiver Alshon Jeffery hopes to return this week from the same injury that has kept him out three games.

The question now is the health of the offensive line, which lost center Will Montgomery for the season when he broke his left leg early against the Raiders. The Bears, already without tackle Jermon Bushrod (concussion/shoulder), shifted Matt Slauson from guard to center and moved the newly acquired Patrick Omameh into Slauson's regular spot.

>>Packers, Rams Meet in Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers still possess one of the NFL's most prolific offenses, but an improving defense has the squad feeling particularly good about its best start in four years.

Following breakout performances by Todd Gurley and Tavon Austin, the St. Louis Rams feel they're making similar strides on the other side of the ball.

 width=As the Packers go after their 12th consecutive home win, the inconsistent Rams will try to remove a team from the unbeaten ranks for the second straight week Sunday.

Aaron Rodgers leads the league with 11 touchdowns passes and a 125.9 passer rating while leading Green Bay to the NFL's sixth-best scoring average at 28.3 per game.

The reigning MVP has no interceptions this year and none in 574 attempts compared to 48 TDs over his last 19 games at Lambeau Field, including three playoff contests. His last interception at home came against Minnesota on Dec. 2, 2012.

The Packers (4-0), however, may be most pleased with how they're playing defensively after holding an opponent to three points or less for only the second time since the 2011 season. They limited San Francisco to 196 total yards in last Sunday's 17-3 road win.

The Rams are moving Akeem Ayers from strong-side to weak-side linebacker and have signed veteran Jo-Lonn Dunbar, who started for them at strong-side the past three seasons but was released at the end of the preseason.

St. Louis is tied with Green Bay for second in the NFL with 17 sacks, though the Rams have been susceptible against the run. They rank 26th at 120.3 yards allowed per game.

That's an area of concern against a Packers team that ranks third in the NFL with 136.3 rushing yards per game. Eddie Lacy is coming off a season-high 90-yard effort.

It's uncertain whether wide receiver Davante Adams will return from an ankle injury.

Green Bay has won four straight against the Rams, but the most recent came in 2012.

Townhall Top of the Hour News

Local Weather - Sponsored By:

CLINTON WEATHER

Local News

DeWittDN on Facebook