Peyton Manning threw a pair of touchdown passes and the Indianapolis Colts took over first place in the AFC South with a 30-17 victory over the visiting Houston Texans on Monday night.

Manning finished 26 of 45 for 268 yards as the Colts (5-2) avenged a season-opening loss to the Texans (4-3) and improved to 9-0 all-time against Houston.

Despite playing without injured tight end Dallas Clark and wide receiver Austin Collie, Manning had Indy in control throughout.

He connected on scoring passes of 2 yards to tight end Jacob Tamme and 15 yards to Reggie Wayne as the Colts cruised to a 24-3 lead just 3 1/2 minutes into the third period.

Kelvin Hayden returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown and Adam Vinatieri kicked three field goals (48, 23, 36 yards) for the Colts, who are 16-2 all-time against the Texans. Third-string tailback Mike Hart chipped in with 84 yards.

Houston quarterback Matt Schaub was 22 of 38 for 201 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Arian Foster rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown that pulled the Texans within 27-17 with 12:22 to play. He also had nine receptions for 65 yards.

Wide receiver Andre Johnson had seven receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown before injuring an ankle on Houston's final drive of the game.