Bernard Pollard hasn't lost his brashness.

The former South Side High School and Purdue University standout is getting ready for the current game of his life, playing safety for the Houston Texans as they prepare to knock off the undefeated Indianapolis Colts. And his intensity is already rising.

Pollard was asked this week what he thought about Colts quarterback Peyton Manning's relatively few flaws.

“He's human,” Pollard said. “Nobody plays this game perfect. We have to try to get him to play out of his comfort level. We have to play with a high intensity. We have to play like we've been playing the last four or five weeks. We're going to win if we go in there and do that.”

They're calling this the biggest game in Texans' history down in Houston. Of course, considering the Texans' history, “biggest game” is a relative term. This wouldn't be the biggest game in Steelers history or Cowboys history or even Titans history. But for the Texans, yeah, it's big.

Houston (5-3) has won three in a row and a win at Indianapolis (7-0) on Sunday would signal the beginning of a race in the AFC South.

The Texans are 1-13 all-time against the Colts, including 0-7 in Indianapolis.

“Everybody understands their offense; we know the weapons they have,” Pollard said. “But we've got to man up. We've got to go play. They make it look easy. If we go out there and grind it out, we hit them, we get the ball out, we try to confuse them, we can win.”

Manning expects the Texans to “man up,” as Pollard puts it. As great a player as Manning is, he's also a tremendous student of the game. He knows history. He knows trends. He knows in-season tendencies and momentum of opponents this week and opponents not yet on the radar.

Houston, being a division foe, knows exactly what the Colts want to do. After all, take away a once-in-a-career touchdown pass by Joseph Addai, the Colts aren't out to trick anyone.

“This will be an extremely tough test for us,” Manning said. “They're playing really well right now. You look at some of their games, they easily could have won a couple they lost. They're playing with a lot of momentum right now.

“They're playing at a very high level right now. We know we have to get good and prepared to play them and go out there and make plays on Sunday, because otherwise it could be a tough day.”

The Colts were inundated with injury news this week, especially defensively. Safety Bob Sanders played two games, but is out for the season with an elbow injury that requires surgery. Linebacker Tyjuan Hagler was put on injured reserve after being hurt late in the 49ers game, and cornerback Marlin Jackson suffered a season-ending ACL at Wednesday's practice. Cornerback Kelvin Hayden is out for four weeks with a knee injury.

On the offensive side, wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez underwent surgery again, so he's unlikely to return this season.

Houston took a hit, too, when tight end Owen Daniels suffered a torn ACL in the Texans' game last week. But defensively, the Texans are fairly healthy.

Injuries, of course, are part of the NFL game, and this match-up moves on with the players who are healthy.

For the Texans to pull off the win – which they are capable of doing – they'll need to do two things well, neither of which is a secret.

First, they'll need to control the ball offensively, limiting the number of touches Manning has on offense.

Secondly, they'll need to put the kind of red-zone pressure on Manning that the 49ers so successfully executed last week in forcing the Colts into four field goals.

The Texans will utilize three running backs (Steve Slaton, Chris Brown and Ryan Moats) and the continued maturity of quarterback Matt Schaub. Schaub missed both games against the Colts last season because of injury, including the infamous Sage Rosenfels' fourth-quarter turnover fest where the Colts overcame a huge deficit. Schaub, of course, has one of the most dangerous receivers in the NFL in Andre Johnson.

Schaub said he knows the Texans have to be offensively efficient.

“It puts added emphasis on each possession, each play, to play good football and be smart,” Schaub said. “(We need to) take what they give us, execute our plays at a high level and not give them any extra opportunities with it, because with the offense they have, they're going to take advantage of those things.”

If and when Schaub passes, he'll have to be quick and accurate because Colts defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis are playing the best football of their careers.

“It's tough enough trying to block a guy who is a freakish athlete, but when you get the crowd noise behind him and him getting a jump on the ball, it makes it that much tougher,” Texans left tackle Duane Brown said. “One thing we just can't do is panic. …Matt knows the importance of trying to get the ball out quick. You have to stay calm and poised.”

As far as putting pressure on Manning, the Texans' defense takes heart in the fact the 49ers sacked Manning three times last week and disrupted the Colts' offensive flow as much as any team. Manning still threw for 347 yards, so it was a relative disruption.

“They got after Peyton a lot,” Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans said. “They hit him. It's always hard to hit Peyton, so they did hit him a little, they rattled him. We have to take our physical part of the game to him. We have to be very physical. It's going to be tough, but it's going to come down to the wire.”

In many ways, this will be the toughest test of the Colts this season. The Colts' AFC South rivals know them the best. They tend to play them the best. And Houston has never been in better position for a win.

“This,” Pollard said, “is why you play football.”