INDIANAPOLIS — Having a short week to prepare for a nationally-televised Thursday night game is tough enough if you are a young player in the National Football League.

Try doing it if you have spent 12 seasons in the league, like Indianapolis Colts defensive end Cory Redding. The 34-year old former University of Texas lineman is on the back side of his professional career. There’s a strong possibility that Redding will hang up his cleats after the 2014 season.

So when it comes to finding out how an NFL player can best prepare for a short-week game, like what the Colts will be facing against the Houston Texans this week, there’s nobody better to ask.

“We normally have a little time to kind of rest, heal up and get a little day to kind of study up the opponent. We had to do all that (after Sunday’s win over Baltimore). We had the ice tub, cold tub, got massages, woke up (Monday) morning and it’s all about the game tape for the Texans,” Redding said.

“Mentally getting our minds prepared to go down to Houston and continue to keep this winning streak alive. That’s the biggest thing, mentally being strong in this league. Because your body feels like it’s been through a shredder. But you just have to keep playing.”

The years in the NFL certainly take a toll on a player’s body. Having two days to decompress, heal up, practice and then get on a plan for a trip to Texas certainly doesn’t help matters.

“When I was younger, I’d play a game on Sunday, I was ready to go Monday morning. Shoot, I was young, ready to go,” Redding recalled.

“Now, as an old head, your body doesn’t feel right until Saturday. You hurt all week. That’s the game. That’s how physical it is and all the wear and tear on your body. That’s part of it. We knew what we signed up for.”

With that in mind, and putting his personal pains on the back burner, it’s all about the Texans. Houston and the Colts are tied for first place in the AFC South with identical 3-2 won-loss records.

Indianapolis dropped opening games to Denver and Philadelphia before posting wins over divisional foes Jacksonville and Tennessee, as well as last week’s home field win over the Ravens. The Texans, meanwhile, have beaten Washington, Oakland and Buffalo along with losses to the Giants and Cowboys.

When discussing Houston, defensive end J.J. Watt, running back Arian Foster and wide receiver Andre Johnson top the list of players to be concerned about.

Foster will probably be one of the best running backs that the Colts have faced this season.

“Arian Foster’s the key to making everything go in the offense. You have to stop him. Just like every week, you have to stop all their backs. (Ryan) Fitzpatrick, the quarterback, he’s in the system and we know who he is. I’ve played him with the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans. He’s the same guy,” Redding previewed.

“You just have to get around him, get your hands up and try to get him to the ground as much as possible, try to get him out of the pocket. He’s a pretty good mover, pretty good scrambler. He wants to get in there and throw the ball. But as long as we continue to keep pressure up front, as well as guys covering in the back end, I think we’ll be fine.”

Head coach Chuck Pagano knows Thursday night’s game is no cakewalk.

“I mean they’ve got an excellent coach (Bill O’Brien). He’s got a great pedigree. Great staff. Great organization. It wasn’t long ago, I mean they won the division, what was it, 2011 and 2012, right? They’ve got a bunch of great football players on both sides of the ball. They’re playing good football and they play hard,” Pagano said.

“They’ve got a defense that’s going to put a ton of pressure on our offense. They’re going to make it really hard to run the football and to get passes off and get away from tight coverage. Front to back, they’re really good. Offensively, Foster’s running the heck out of the football. (The) offensive line is doing a great job of blocking, quarterback’s playing well. They’ve got game wreckers on the outside. Andre Johnson, we’ve seen him forever, and (DeAndre) Hopkins, tight ends, they’ve got a bunch of good players. So we’re not surprised.”

SERIES HISTORY: 25th regular-season meeting. Colts lead series, 20-4. Indianapolis has posted wins in 11 of the past 14 meetings, including the last three in a row. The Colts swept last year’s home-and-home series, posting a 27-24 come-from-behind victory at Reliant Stadium and a 25-3 decision at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis is 12-0 against the Texans in home games and are 8-4 in games played in Houston. The Colts’ last loss in Houston came on Dec. 16, 2012 as the Texans posted a 29-17 victory. Indianapolis has swept the season series eight times since the two franchises began playing each other in 2002.

–OG Hugh Thornton (back) did not practice on Tuesday. Thornton, who has started at right guard this season finished the Baltimore game in seemingly good shape but came in a day later with soreness. His status for Thursday night’s matchup in Houston won’t be known until game time. Joe Reitz could get the start at left guard if Thornton is unable to play against the Texans Thursday night. Reitz saw work on the left side during the team’s Monday and Tuesday practices. Lance Louis started at left guard against the Ravens last Sunday.

–OLB Bjoern Werner (ankle) worked during Tuesday’s practice session. Werner had experienced some swelling in his ankle after Sunday’s home game with Baltimore. He is expected to be in the starting lineup Thursday night at Houston.

–CB Darius Butler (ankles) wore a walking boot on his left foot during Tuesday’s practice session. Butler, though, is expected to give it a go on Thursday night when the Colts play at Houston. Butler tweaked both ankles during Sunday’s home field win over Baltimore.

–Rookie OG Jack Mewhort (ankle) is not expected to be available to play at Houston on Thursday night. Mewhort was hurt against Tennessee two weeks ago and did not play against the Ravens on Sunday. With the short week of practice this week, it appears now that he may not be cleared to return until the Colts Oct. 19 home game with Cincinnati.

GAME PLAN: Keep turnovers at a minimum. Force turnovers.

Seems easy. But it isn’t. Especially on a short week where neither team will be able to install many new things to the offense and defense.

So Indianapolis will try and keep the respective game plans relatively simple. Work to your strengths. That means the Colts will try and get their running game going early. Protecting the quarterback against an aggressive Houston defense is paramount.

And defensively, Indianapolis will try to keep its pass rush intact. The Colts have been forced to become inventive in trying to create a consistent pass rush. They’ve had success, too, and that will need to continue Thursday night.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Colts QB Andrew Luck vs. Texans pass defense. Luck has posted a 3-1 record against the Texans since he came into the league in 2012. He has completed 64 of 127 passes for 828 yards, nine touchdowns and just one interception in those four career games against his home town team. Houston has allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete nearly 66 percent of their passes for 1,313 yards and seven touchdowns.

Texans DE J.J. Watt vs. Colts RT Gosder Cherilus. Watt has been a terror since coming into the NFL. He has become perhaps the NFL’s most dominating defensive lineman. He has recorded a pair of sacks so far this season along with four tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits and has returned one interception for a touchdown.