Curt Cavin

curt.cavin@indystar.com

HOUSTON -- Pat McAfee's first kickoff Thursday night was to start the game. His second was to change it.

When the Houston Texans initially aligned as McAfee expected, the opportunity to seize control of the crucial AFC South matchup was on.

Kick it, follow it, recover it.

"Steal a possession," the Indianapolis Colts' standout punter said after the 33-28 victory at NRG Stadium.

McAfee's trickery gave quarterback Andrew Luck an extra chance, and Luck made the most of it. A throw down the middle of the field led to T.Y. Hilton's diving catch at the 5-yard line. On the next play, running back Trent Richardson bounced into the end zone for a 10-0 lead.

The early rout was on.

Before the visitors stopped for the first-quarter break, their superiority was 24-0, the franchise's largest opening outburst in 56 years (27 points were scored in a 1958 game). Hilton was everywhere, and Luck found him. Five catches for 149 yards were Hilton's numbers in the period, and that included a couple of ridiculous catches.

The one on the first drive required Hilton to track the ball over his right shoulder, then haul it in over his head. Bang, 40 yards up the left side to set up a chippie field goal.

Hilton's catch after McAfee's recovery was a 49-yard blur up the right seam. The enthusiasm on the sideline was off the charts.

"It changed the game around," running back Ahmad Bradshaw said. "It changed the momentum and gives us the mojo."

McAfee said his read on the opening kickoff was Houston fullback Jay Prosch, who by drifting back to set up a possible return vacated the middle of the field. After Adam Vinatieri's 27-yard field goal, McAfee's right foot nudged the ball the requisite 10 yards and then he cradled it.

McAfee wasn't even hit and joked that he thought he "would get killed." He estimated he could have let the ball travel 30 yards before the Texans rallied to it.

"We thought the middle might open up because we hit a surprise onside on the right (against Tennessee) so teams are kind of feeling that," he said. "We spread out our kickoff team to see what it would give us. It was kind of a 'check with me' … it was my job not to mess it up."

The offense and defense did the rest.

With Hilton often running free in the secondary, Luck completed 12 of 18 throws in the first quarter for 208 yards. His rating was a near-perfect 142.8, a number that looked even better with Houston quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald 0 of 4 with a pair of sacks.

The Colts' first-quarter performance was so close to perfection that things could only get worse from there (and of course, they did as the Texans nearly closed the gap completely). In yards that quarter, the Colts had 218 to Houston's two. The first-down comparison was 12-0.

About the only thing that didn't go perfectly for the Colts was the need to use two of the three first-half time outs.

Of course, no one was complaining.

"It's a lot of fun when you have coaches willing to call it," McAfee of the onside kick. "We're having a lot of fun on special teams."

To wit: The Colts have recovered three onside kicks this season; the rest of the NFL does not have one. Game changers, they are.

Follow Star reporter Curt Cavin on Twitter at @curtcavin.