HOUSTON (WISH) — The Indianapolis Colts took care of business in Houston Sunday, earning a huge 31-20 win over the Texans.

The victory marks the first win for brand new head coach Shane Steichen, but you wouldn’t know it based on how Steichen responded after the game.

“It was good but a lot of credit goes to the players,” Steichen said. “I mean the players put the work in throughout the week, the preparation part of it and prepare the right way, and those guys went out there and make plays to make it happen.”

“He’s trying to play all cool, but then when we gave him the team ball, his voice was cracking a little bit so I think he liked that,” quarterback Gardner Minshew said. “We’re all just so grateful. We see everything that Shane puts in. He works so hard. He wants this worse than anybody, so man we’re really happy to go out there and do it for him.”

It wasn’t just a big win for Steichen. It was the Colts’ first win of the 2023 season, and it came against a divisional opponent. The Colts hadn’t won a road game since November of last season.

“It feels great,” receiver Alec Pierce said. “It’s a great feeling to win. Hopefully, it’s a feeling that we’re going to continue to do.”

“All the hard work that the guys put in since day one, in OTAs and all that going into Training Camp, and just grinding every single week — just the first win being a divisional game away, it’s a great feeling,” defensive tackle Deforest Buckner said.

After a pitiful 4-12-1 season in 2022, the magnitude of getting the first win wasn’t lost on the Colts.

“Definitely major,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “It felt good just to get that division win. I feel like we just came out here just ready to play, with our minds made up that we weren’t going to leave here without a W. So just happy that we saw it through. Definitely some stuff to clean up but felt good to get that first win on the road.”

To add to the significance, the Colts were able to pull out the win after starting quarterback Anthony Richardson left the game with a concussion in the second quarter. In came backup Gardner Minshew who completed 19 of 23 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown.

“Feels real good just to know that we can go out there and finish,” receiver Josh Downs told News 8’s Andrew Chernoff exclusively live on the Postgame Show. “New group. New coach. So just being able to go out there win, and really just finish. being able to finish is big so, we’re excited to get this thing on track.”

Up next, the Colts travel to Baltimore to take on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24.

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