The Houston Texans continue to surge at the right time.
C.J. Stroud threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns as the Texans extended their winning streak to six games with a convincing 40-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Houston improved to 9-5, rebounding from an 0-3 start to remain firmly in the AFC playoff picture with three games left in the regular season.
The streak is the Texans’ longest since 2018 and has them one game behind Jacksonville in the AFC South while holding a wild-card position.
Houston wasted no time taking control. On the second play of the game, Stroud hit Nico Collins on a short pass that turned into a 57-yard touchdown when Collins slipped past two defenders and sprinted untouched to the end zone. Moments later, Arizona fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Texans recovered, setting up a 30-yard field goal for a quick 10-0 lead.
The Texans kept piling on in the first quarter. After Stroud mishandled a snap, Woody Marks powered in from 1 yard out to make it 17-0.
Arizona struggled to find traction early, falling behind by 17 while posting minus-7 yards of offense. The Cardinals finally responded with a 13-play, 71-yard drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown catch by Trey McBride early in the second quarter.
Ka’imi Fairbairn extended Houston’s lead with a 55-yard field goal and later added a 22-yarder before halftime, sending the Texans into the break comfortably ahead despite a blocked attempt just before intermission.
The Texans delivered another blow to start the second half. Rookie cornerback Kamari Lassiter intercepted Jacoby Brissett in the end zone on Arizona’s opening drive, recording his fourth interception of the season. Houston quickly capitalized, with Stroud finding Dalton Schultz for a 4-yard touchdown to push the lead to 30-7.
McBride continued to be Arizona’s lone bright spot, hauling in his second touchdown late in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 30-14. Fairbairn answered with a 33-yard field goal early in the fourth.
Stroud sealed the win when he connected with Collins again, this time on a 4-yard touchdown pass that made it 40-20. Collins finished with three catches for 85 yards, eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards for the third straight season.
Brissett threw for 249 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in his ninth start for the injured Kyler Murray. McBride caught 12 passes for a career-high 134 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first tight end in NFL history with at least 100 receptions in consecutive seasons.
Houston also found a spark in the running game after Marks exited early. Jawhar Jordan, elevated from the practice squad Saturday, rushed for 101 yards on 15 carries in his NFL debut.
Arizona dropped its sixth straight game and fell to 3-11.
Injuries
Cardinals: WR Andre Baccellia was taken off the field on a stretcher with a neck injury on a second-quarter kickoff return and transported to a hospital for further evaluation; he was alert and had movement in all extremities. RB Bam Knight (ankle) and LB Cody Simon (knee) left in the first quarter.
Texans: RB Woody Marks left with an ankle injury and did not return. DT Mario Edwards Jr. sustained a chest injury in the fourth quarter.
Up Next
*Cardinals: Host Atlanta next Sunday.
Texans: Host Las Vegas next Sunday.*
