The Houston Texans came away with a big 20-16 victory in an AFC South showdown vs the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon, but NBC Sports’ Chris Simms was still livid on Sunday night with a penalty that went against Houston.
As Football Night in America showed Texans-Colts highlights ahead of the Broncos-Commanders Sunday Night Football game on NBC, Simms sounded off on a pass interference call that went against Houston on a Daniel Jones pass in the third quarter.
The Colts had third-and-19 at the Houston 44-yard line with three minutes to go in the third quarter, when Jones threw a deep ball down the right sideline intended for wide receiver Alec Pierce. Texans safety Calen Bullock was called for pass interference despite the pass being completely uncatchable and landing well out of bounds.
Simms called for “common sense” from NFL officials as he ripped the pass interference call.
Chris Simms: “This is so bad. We need common sense in the NFL at the referees… The hot dog vendor had a better chance at catching that than Alec Pierce. That is ridiculous.” 🏈🦓🎙️ #NFL pic.twitter.com/96eIflos9h
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 1, 2025
“This is so bad,” Simms said. “We need common sense in the NFL at the referees. The ball lands by the yellow dotted line. The hot dog vendor had a better chance at catching that than Alec Pierce. That is ridiculous. Ridonkulous.”
One play later, Jones and rookie tight end Tyler Warren connected for a touchdown, and the Colts tied the game 13-13.
So, while the pass interference call didn’t end up mattering in the end, it was a game-changer at the time, and in a hugely important AFC South matchup. The Texans improve to 7-5 with the win, while the Colts fall to 8-4 and into a first-place tie with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.