Under-the-radar Colts player on offense key to matchup vs. Texans

One under-the-radar member of the Indianapolis Colts offense will play a key role in determining Sunday's outcome against the Houston Texans.

We know that in order for the Colts to find success week in and week out, Daniel Jones, Jonathan Taylor, and others are vital to those outcomes.

But this week in particular, given the opponent, right tackle Braden Smith is among those pivotal players, according to ESPN.

NFL analyst Matt Bowen named Smith vs. Texans' pass rusher Will Anderson a key matchup to watch in Week 13.

"Anderson was relentless in the Texans' Week 12 win over the Bills, recording 2.5 sacks and five pressures on Allen," wrote Bowen. "That brought Anderson's season totals to 10.5 sacks and 36 pressures, while his pass rush win rate sits at 24% (third highest in the NFL)."

As Bowen notes, Anderson has been extremely disruptive this season, but the Houston front as a whole has consistently been able to get after the quarterback this season, ranking 12th as a unit in ESPN's pass rush win rate metric.

Of course, time in the pocket for any quarterback is the name of the game. Pressure not only leads to sacks but forces a quarterback off his spot, to rush through his reads -- or not even get to some -- and can lead to mistakes.

As ESPN NFL analyst Ben Solak detailed recently, the pressure on Jones in recent weeks has been a big contributor to the up-and-down play from the Colts' passing game.

"Smith has allowed six sacks this season, and his pass block win rate of 90.2% ranks 33rd among offensive tackles," added Bowen. "Smith will be crucial in keeping the pocket clean for quarterback Daniel Jones, as his off-target rate climbs to 25% when pressured."

This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts vs. Texans: Braden Smith headlines key matchup in Week 13