HOUSTON — Andrew Luck addressed the mental fortitude required to muster a focused effort during a short week of preparation, the process of deceiving the mind in order to open a game with zeal instead of lethargy a mere four days after last taking the field.

The Indianapolis quarterback came out firing Thursday, pacing the Colts to a four-score, first-quarter lead before they held off a furious Houston Texans rally for a 33-28 victory at NRG Stadium.

Luck passed for 370 yards and three touchdowns, and wide receiver T.Y. Hilton just missed eclipsing the franchise record with 223 receiving yards. The Colts (4-2) led 24-0 after the first quarter before Houston mounted a comeback, showing the value of their preparation.

“We treated those walkthroughs with the same enthusiasm as we treat any other practice,” Luck said. “And when you look at the recent history of Thursday night games, teams go on the road and struggle, and we didn’t want to do that. I think we were good enough to get off to that fast start, which always helps.

“It takes focus. It takes a belief that this isn’t a short week; this is a regular week. You almost have to trick yourself into it, and guys bought in and did it.”

Luck and Hilton connected on a critical 33-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, a scoring play that supplied the Colts with a 33-21 lead following a failed two-point conversion attempt.

The cushion proved vital, especially after Texans defensive end J.J. Watt returned a Luck fumbled snap 45 yards for a touchdown with 10:46 left in the fourth quarter. Watt finished with seven tackles, four quarterback hits, three passes defensed and two sacks, but it was his third touchdown of the season that pulled Houston within 33-28.

The Texans (3-3) fumbled to cap their final two drives.

Wide receiver Andre Johnson lost the ball in Colts territory with 4:38 to play. Indianapolis cornerback Vontae Davis forced the fumble, and safety Mike Adams recovered.

With just under two minutes remaining, Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was stripped by Colts rush linebacker Bjoern Werner while scrambling in the pocket. Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson recovered to seal the victory.

“Frustrated but optimistic,” Watt said of the comeback and defeat. “You give a team a 24-point lead like that, it would be pretty easy to shut it down and say, ‘OK, that’s a tough loss.’ But we fought, we gave it a good shot, a good run, but in the end we didn’t make enough plays.”

The Colts extended their AFC South winning streak to 10 games while improving to 8-0 on Thursday NFL Network contests, 7-0 on the road.

“We’re in first place, I know that,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. “Sole possession in the (AFC) South, which is a great feeling.”

Texans running back Arian Foster rushed 20 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Fitzpatrick went 15-for-23 for 212 yards and a score, while Johnson had seven receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Luck completed 25 of 44 passes, nine of them to Hilton. He has passed for 1,987 yards and 17 touchdowns, both NFL-leading totals this season.

What the Colts said:

“When you have a quarterback or an offense that’s led by Andrew Luck, you know you give him the ball at the 45 going in, or our 45, 46, we’re probably going to get some points. It’s huge for us. It’s great momentum.” — Colts punter/kickoff specialist Pat McAfee, whose onside kick recovery in the first quarter set the stage for the Colts to extend their lead to 10-0.

What the Texans said:

“It’s really frustrating. Give credit to (Colts receiver wide T.Y. Hilton) because he is a good player and Andrew Luck is a good player himself. (Luck) was just trying to get the ball into his playmakers’ hands. We did a bad job of trying to stop that guy.” — Texans safety Kendrick Lewis, after Hilton who finished with nine receptions for 223 yards and a touchdown.

What we learned about the Colts:

1. The Colts’ aggressive, attacking defensive style continues to pay dividends. With five sacks of Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, Indianapolis is now tied for the NFL lead along with the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets with 17. The Colts also forced two fumbles in the fourth quarter, critical turnovers that preserved the victory. “They are coming together, and you can really see what we envisioned a long time ago, the type of defense that we wanted to have out there week in and week out,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said.

2. Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton owns the Texans, at least at NRG Stadium. After producing three touchdowns and 121 receiving yards to key last season’s comeback victory in Houston, Hilton ravaged the Texans for nine receptions, 223 yards and a touchdown Thursday. “He is great, man,” Colts quarterback Andrew Luck said. “He was fantastic. You obviously see what he can do on the football field, and he got behind the defense.”

–LB D’Qwell Jackson finished with a team-high seven tackles, one sack and a crucial fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Following seven productive seasons in Cleveland, Jackson is precisely the stabilizing force the Colts anticipated. Jackson leads the team in tackles with 33 and is tied for the lead with three sacks.

–QB Andrew Luck entered play leading the league in passing yards and touchdown passes and added to those numbers with another exceptional performance against the Texans, posting 370 yards and three touchdown passes. Luck, who has 1,987 yards and 17 touchdown passes this season, is making a serious bid for league MVP honors.

–WR T.Y. Hilton finished 1 yard short of his personal high of 224 receiving yards (set in the postseason last year against the Chiefs). Raymond Berry holds the Colts’ single-game, regular-season record, also with 224, set in 1957 against the Washington Redskins. “I’ve just been patient the first couple of weeks,” said Hilton, who finished with nine receptions and a touchdown. “I’ve been saying all week I feel like I’m going to have a big game, and I did.”

What we learned about the Texans:

1. Houston continues to struggle mustering much of a pass rush outside of defensive end J.J. Watt. With rookie outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney still sidelined due to a knee injury, the Texans have yet to unearth a complement to Watt, who recorded half of the team’s eight quarterback hits and two of the three sacks of Colts quarterback Andre Luck. Watt continues to play at an otherworldly level, but his support group up front remains thin.

2. After spending the week chatting up a reversal of their slow starts, the Texans fell into a 24-0 hole before snapping to life. The Texans make a habit of falling behind only to rally back into contention, but for a second consecutive game, their comeback fell just short of victory. “It wasn’t good football,” Houston coach Bill O’Brien said of the opening quarter. “I give the Colts credit. They came ready to play in the beginning, and we didn’t.”

–DE J.J. Watt recorded his third touchdown this season on a 45-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter, the most touchdowns by a defensive lineman since William Perry posted three for the Bears in 1985. Watt added seven tackles, four quarterback hits, a career-high-tying three passes defensed and two sacks.

–RB Arian Foster rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, bumping his season total to 513 rushing yards despite missing one game. Foster also recorded his 50th career rushing touchdown with his 12-yard run in the third quarter. “I’m fine,” Foster said of the workload. “I feel good. It’s part of my job.”

–WR Andre Johnson became the 15th NFL player to eclipse 13,000 receiving yards but also lost his second fumble on the season, a career-high total. Johnson was stripped by Colts CB Vontae Davis late in the fourth quarter as the Texans attempted to mount a game-winning drive. “I didn’t have it cleanly,” Johnson said. “Just try to make something happen before really protecting the ball, and it cost my team.”