Colts

Colts DC Lou Anarumo said he’s been impressed with rookie LB CJ Allen and how he attacked his rehab to return to the field as quickly as possible.

“Nobody’s working harder than him,” Anarumo said, via the team’s website. “He’s a 21-year-old kid who’s grinding in everything he does. He’s rehabbing his injuries like nobody else, and he really goes about his business like a pro, which we knew in the draft process and is a big part of who he is.”

Allen added that his ankle held up and he felt good after the game.

“I felt good,” Allen said after the game. “I mean, anytime you get to play football, it’s a blessing. You know, I gotta thank the Lord for that. Anytime you get to scrap it up, you know, you only get a certain amount guaranteed.”

Anarumo added that while Allen was impressive, he still has a lot to work on.

“I think (it’s) no different than anybody else,” Anarumo said. “I mean, they all have to be assignment sound. He was, and you know things get a little bit moving fast at times for the young guys, especially inside when you know there’s all kinds of jet motions and different run fits for them. But he did a good job handling that for the most part.”

Colts

The Colts are 2-6 following Week 8’s one-sided 42-7 loss to the Jaguars. Indianapolis HC Shane Steichen admitted they couldn’t execute and their coaching needs to improve.

“I thought the execution wasn’t there, and the coaching needs to be better,” Steichen said, via JJ Stankevitz of the team’s site. “Those are the two things that really stood out to me. Make sure we’re all on the same page moving forward.”

Although S Cam Bynum wouldn’t say there was a lack of effort, he also believes their execution was off. 

“I wouldn’t say lack of effort,” Bynum said. “I think execution and just making sure that we’re doing our job when it’s our job to make certain plays. Little simple routine things, being able to do it. I wouldn’t say effort is an issue. Especially (because) we got a lot of good players as far as playing hard and high effort guys, and I wouldn’t say that’s the issue. I think it just comes down to execution and doing our job, you know, for all 70 plays or whatever.”

Steichen went on to praise rookies like DE Caden Curry, G Jalen Farmer, and LB CJ Allen.

“I was really pleased with a lot of the guys,” Steichen said. “Like I said after the game, Caden Curry, I thought he played awesome. I thought (Jalen) Farmer stepped in and did some really good things getting his first start. CJ Allen showed up, had 10 tackles. So, I was really pleased with a lot of those guys, and I’m excited for their growth moving forward as well.”

Jaguars

• Jaguars DT Ruke Orhorhoro was fined $11,941 for unnecessary roughness, LB Branson Combs was fined $5,583 for unnecessary roughness, LB Dennis Gardeck was fined $9,722 for unnecessary roughness, and TE Brenton Strange was fined $11,941 for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Texans

Texans WR Jaylin Noel was placed on injured reserve due to a turf toe injury and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Houston HC DeMeco Ryans said they’ll miss Noel’s big-play ability and contributions as their return specialist. 

“We’ll miss Jaylin Noel’s explosive ability. He came in and he gave us a ton of big plays on offense. His return ability as well as a kick returner and punt returner, he did a lot for us offensively and special teams-wise, so we’ll miss that production from him. With that being said, a lot of times you miss a guy, that’s someone else’s opportunity to step up and fill that void. We still have five good receivers that we like on our roster. We feel like they can still all provide some explosive plays for us. We’ll miss Jaylin Noel but we know other guys have to step up,” Ryans said, via TexansWire. 

Texans

Texans DE Will Anderson Jr. recently expressed that he takes their defensive struggles personally. When asked about Anderson’s comments, HC DeMeco Ryans said Anderson is a “true leader” of their defense and is proud of the way he’s stepped up. 

“I love Will for his mindset, how he attacks everything. He’s the definition of a true leader. That’s a guy you want everybody on the team following because he prepares the right way. He truly cares. It means a lot to him. He weighs in on himself a lot. He puts a lot of on us, on himself, which a leader should do. I’m proud of him for that, for saying that. But for us, it’s just we have to go do it. Everybody, we have to go do it. We got to go finish games. We’ve been in a lot of tight ball games. As I saw this past Sunday, over half the games came down to being decided by eight points or less. That won’t change throughout the year. That doesn’t change. ‘How do you find yourself on the winning side of those games?’ It’s being great in situational football and it’s finishing the proper way. If we do those things, that’s when you earn the right to win games,” Ryans said, via TexansWire. 

As for their defense’s struggles with tackling, Ryans said they are looking at ways to address the issue in practice. 

“For tackling, we’ll look at different ways to emphasize it in our practices. ‘How do we just put guys in different positions? How do we do more of it to make sure guys are emphasizing it?’ Specifically, it’s the wrapping and squeezing. We’re there. We’re trying to play physical. We’re trying to knock guys back. But we have to make sure we’re securing. First man in specifically has to secure the tackle and we can do a better job of having our cleats in the ground, having our body positioned in a proper way where we’re really getting in front of guys. We’ve missed a ton of tackles, as I’ve analyzed it. We’ve missed a ton of tackles with our body position not being exactly where it needs to be. We’ve been too much to the side of guys and not putting our body in front of guys, so we have to do a better job of that.”

Houston’s defense has allowed a league-leading 34 explosive plays, including 29 passes of over 20 yards. Ryans points out how it has hurt them defensively, but praised their offense and QB C.J. Stroud for making big plays. 

“Explosives are a huge determinant factor in scoring points. When you can gain an explosive on offense, you’re putting yourself, especially nowadays, with how good the field goal kickers are, you’re going to at least get three points if you hit an explosive. If you’re really good, then you can find your way getting in the end zone. It’s the flip side of that defensively. Most of the times when you give up explosive points, you end up giving up points. The name of the game is to keep points off the board. Our offense, they’ve done a really good job all year. I don’t think they’ve gotten enough credit or highlighted enough. I think our offense has played really good throughout this entire year. They’ve gained a ton of explosives. C.J. [Stroud] is playing extremely well. They’ve scored over 30 points multiple times. They’ve done a really good job. Coach [Nick] Caley has done a good job of mixing up the play calls. For all that they’ve done, they’ve done a really good job for us. Now can we come together as a team and play, everybody play good. ‘Can we continue to do that?’ When we did that two times this year, we won football games.”

Texans

The Texans and QB C.J. Stroud couldn’t finalize a contract extension last offseason, and the quarterback enters the final year of his rookie contract before his fifth-year option activates for 2027. One anonymous source told ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime and Jeremy Fowler that Stroud received a solid offer in the offseason. 

“They made a pretty good effort,” the source said. 

Another source told ESPN that Stroud was comfortable playing out 2026 without a new deal. 

“Unless there’s a better offer, we’re good,” one source recalled Stroud’s feedback last offseason. 

Texans GM Nick Caserio said they were not reluctant about being unable to finalize an extension.

“Nobody was reluctant on anything,” Caserio said. “We had discussions. We made an offer. All right, couldn’t quite come to a final resolution or agreement. That happens. It’s not the first time, it’s not the last time. Not going to be the first time. Again, nobody’s discouraged. I have a lot of respect for C.J. and David Mulugheta and their group.”

• Texans K Ka’imi Fairbairn tied K Sebastian Janikowski for the third-most 50-plus-yard field goals made (58) in NFL history.

Titans

• Titans CB Alontae Taylor was fined $23,882 for unnecessary roughness.