Stroud guides Texans past Titans with 23 unanswered

C.J. Stroud accounted for two touchdowns as the Houston Texans scored 23 straight points to beat the Tennessee Titans 26-3 Sunday, October 11, at Nissan Stadium.

Stroud completed 26 of 34 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown, then added a 2-yard rushing score that finished Houston’s longest possession and broke the game open. The Texans took command when Tennessee turned the ball over on consecutive first-half possessions, giving Houston short fields and a 12-3 halftime edge.

Houston arrived at 0-4 and left with its first win; Tennessee fell to 0-5 after opening with a field goal and never scoring again. The Titans held their only lead at 3-0, but a fumble late in the first quarter shifted the field and the game toward Houston.

Houston takes control

Tennessee’s opening series covered 58 yards in 10 plays and ended with a 30-yard field goal, but the Texans answered with a field goal to tie it. After the fumble gave Houston the ball at Tennessee’s 35, Fairbairn converted from 35 yards for a 6-3 lead; Ward’s interception early in the second quarter then set up another Houston field goal.

The fumble created the game’s largest win-probability swing, moving Houston from 62% to 72%. Fairbairn added field goals from 26 and 53 yards, and Tennessee’s offense could not build an answer around Cam Ward, who completed 23 of 36 for 170 yards with an interception.

Houston’s decisive march began with 10 seconds left in the second quarter and ran 19 plays, 89 yards and 8:33. Stroud capped it at 6:37 of the third quarter, and after Tennessee’s next possession ended in a punt, he found a receiver for a 9-yard touchdown to make it 26-3 early in the fourth.

The numbers behind the shutout

Houston’s 0.13 EPA per play, with EPA measuring expected points added on each play, stood against Tennessee’s minus-0.39. The Texans also produced positive EPA on 50% of their plays, their success rate, while the Titans reached 37%; that steady edge showed up in Houston’s field-goal march before it became touchdowns.

Will Anderson Jr. supplied three sacks as Houston brought Ward down four times. Woody Marks added 62 yards on 15 carries, Xavier Hutchinson had four catches for 65 yards, and Tony Adams made nine tackles for Tennessee. Houston, now 1-4, visits the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, October 18; Tennessee, 0-5, visits the Indianapolis Colts that day.