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Andre Johnson scores two touchdowns in 27-20 victory over Texans

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 08: Andre Johnson #81 of the Indianapolis Colts catches a pass then runs past Johnathan Joseph #24 , Andre Hal #29 and Benardrick McKinney #55 of the Houston Texans for a touchdown in the first quarter on October 8, 2015 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

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Andre Johnson scored a pair of touchdowns against his former team as the Indianapolis Colts managed to overcome the absence of Andrew Luck to earn a 27-20 victory over the Houston Texans on Thursday night.

Matt Hasselbeck, playing with an illness of his own, passed for 213 yards and two touchdowns, both to Johnson. Hasselbeck started in place of Luck for a second straight week as Luck recovers from a shoulder injury.

A pair of field goals from Adam Vinatieri and the first touchdown pass to Johnson gave the Colts a 13-0 lead in the second quarter.

Houston’s offense was completely ineffective with Ryan Mallett getting the start at quarterback. Mallett was intercepted on the Texans opening possession and was replaced by Brian Hoyer in the second quarter.

Hoyer’s Hail Mary to rookie receiver Jaelen Strong pulled the Texans to within a field goal, 13-10, at halftime.

It took less than two minutes for the Colts to score again in the third quarter. Frank Gore scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to give Indianapolis a 20-10 lead.

Strong and Johnson traded touchdown receptions before Nick Novak’s 49-yard field goal closed the gap to 27-20 with six minutes left.

Hoyer led the Texans into Indianapolis territory before throwing a terrible ball up for grabs that was intercepted by Mike Adams to end Houston’s chances. Hoyer finished 24-of-31 for 312 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in place of Mallett and would seem to be the best option going forward for the Texans.

Frank Gore rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown for Indianapolis. DeAndre Hopkins had a monster game for Houston, catching 11 passes for 169 yards.