You’ll never see Executive Vice President/General Manager Nick Caserio do the “Jump Around” during a postgame celebration. As emotionless as he is while always lingering in the background, if Caserio ever seriously considered joining in the festivities, it would have been after the Texans’ 29-27 win over the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

No one could have blamed Caserio if Sunday felt like Christmas morning to him. Players he acquired this year via trades, free agency and the draft made substantial contributions to the Texans’ third straight victory in Indianapolis. They returned to Houston in first place in the AFC South after the Jaguars and Titans joined the Colts as divisional teams that lost their first games.

In looking at Caserio’s contribution to the victory that gave the Texans a nine-straight win streak in the AFC South, we’ll start with the offense. Running back Joe Mixon, acquired from Cincinnati for a seventh-round draft pick, carried 30 times for 159 yards (5.3 average) and a touchdown. He helped the Texans control the ball inside the Colts’ 20 for 40 minutes.

Wide receiver Stefon Diggs made his Texans debut with touchdown catches of 9 and 2 yards from quarterback C.J. Stroud. Caserio sent the Bills a 2025 second-round pick he received in a trade with the Vikings for Diggs, a sixth in 2024 and a fifth in 2025.

Diggs and Mixon combined to score all three touchdowns.

“Those guys can step up and make plays no matter what the situation is,” head coach DeMeco Ryans said. “When you can count on those guys to make plays, it’s huge for our team, not only for the offense, but for what they bring to our whole team. Joe running the ball — the energy he brought to our whole team was awesome.”

Rookie tight end Cade Stover, a fourth-round pick, blocked so fiercely that Mixon gave him a shout-out during his postgame interview with the media.

On the other side of the ball, the Texans recorded two sacks by new tackles Mario Edwards Jr. and Foley Fatukasi, who both signed as free agents. Fatukasi, Edwards, end Danielle Hunter and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair are free agents who helped the Colts limit 104 yards rushing, including 48 by Jonathan Taylor. He entered the game averaging 135.2 yards in six games against the Texans, including four straight with at least 143.

Rookie safety Calen Bullock, a third-round pick, had the Texans’ lone takeaway, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. He intercepted quarterback Anthony Richardson on the Texans’ 8-yard line in the second quarter, preventing a potential touchdown or field goal that could have made the difference in the outcome.

And while Caserio had nothing to do with signing kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn eight years ago, the general manager has made sure he’s paid to keep him on the team. Fairbairn has responded to that faith in him by shooting field goals of 51, 50 and 51 yards — the first time he’s had three of at least 50 in a game.

Now, no player was more instrumental in helping the Texans win than Mixon, whose 30 carries were a carry high. He also caught three passes for 19 yards.

Following the 2023 season, Ryans and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik emphasized running the ball more productively and consistently in their second season with the Texans. They tied for 22^nd in rushing last season (96.9-yard average), including 3.7 per carry (29^and). Running backs Devin Singletary and Dameon Pierce combined for just six touchdowns rushing. Mixon averaged 12 touchdowns rushing and receiving in each of his last three seasons with the Bengals.

“If you can run the ball, it opens everything up,” Ryans said. “When it comes to the passing game, they’ve got to put (the defense) eight in the box, so you’ve got a lot of single coverage on the outside. Nico (Collins), Tank (Dell) and Diggs can make their plays.”

Based on Sunday’s performance, it appears the Texans struck gold with Mixon, who turned 28 in training camp. He earned his 159 yards the hard way, as his longest run was just 13 yards.

“Credit to our guys,” Mixon said. “Coach Slowik trusts us and believes in us. We go out there physically. We ran downhill, sideways — did everything we had to do to bend them and make the most of the runs. Shout out to the fullbacks, tight ends, o-line and receivers that blocked. It wouldn’t have been possible without them.”

Sunday marked the second-highest-yielding performance of Mixon’s career with his 165 receiving yards against Pittsburgh in 2021. It was the fourth time he’s topped 150.

“It starts with our offensive line,” Ryans said. “The way they controlled the line of scrimmage was great.”

Tackles Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard, guards Shaq Mason and Kenyon Green and center Juice Scruggs did a great job blocking the run for Mixon.

“Joe stepped up tremendously,” Ryans said. “We needed him to run the ball. They (Colts) knew it was a run. We knew it was a run, and he still made the play. Just happy to have him on our side.”

The key to the 40-carry, 213-yard running game that averaged 5.3 carries per carry was total dominance by the linemen. That dominance was most evident in the second half, when the Texans had the ball for 12:47 of the third quarter to the Colts’ 2:03 and 11:03 of the fourth quarter to the Colts’ 3:57.

“It’s really about will and desire,” Mixon said. “The O-linemen kept saying all week, ‘Hey, man, we’ve got to shake this thing.’ And I was like, ‘Let’s get 150 (yards) and get going.’

“We’ve got to keep improving, keep building. (Slowik) said the same thing. There were two (runs) I wish I had back. More than anything, I’m just proud of how hard we fought, and we fought to the end.”

This game was tighter than it needed to be. Tommy Townsend had blocked a punt that set up Taylor’s 5-yard touchdown run. Richardson completed three long passes to Alex Pierce for a 60-yard touchdown, to Ashton Dulin for a 54-yard touchdown and to Pierce for 57 yards that set up the quarterback’s 3-yard scoring run that made it 29-27 with 2:14 left in the game.

When the Texans last got the ball, they had to let the Colts use their timeouts so they could run out the clock and secure the win. And that’s exactly what happened, thanks in large part to two first-down plays.

On third-and-11 at the Texans’ 29 with two minutes left, Stroud threw a pinpoint pass to Collins, who finished with six catches and 117 yards, on the right sideline. Collins was well covered, but he made a rare catch of a great throw for a 12-yard gain and a first down.

“Great playmaker,” Ryans said. “He’s done it a couple times here against the Colts. That’s what Nico does. He makes big plays when we need him the most. What a play. What a great catch. For him to get down on the floor and bounce, it was just great.”

The Colts had to use their final two timeouts, but they still hoped to get the ball back to give Richardson another chance to make another big play. He never got it.

On third-and-3 with 1:48 left and the Texans up 48, Stroud handed the ball to Mixon, who ran 9 yards and picked up a first down, allowing them to run out the clock.

“The plan was actually to go frontside,” Mixon said. “The linebacker screened over the top and just replaced his gap where he needed to go, and (I) made him pay for it. I’m just glad I was able to close it at a critical time.”

With Game 1 now behind us, the Texans are preparing for their home opener against Chicago. It’s a nationally televised Sunday night game against another outstanding young quarterback, Caleb Williams. The Bears are 1-0 after beating the Titans.