Tag: Latest Texans news

WATCH: Texans RB Joe Mixon gives spark vs. Chiefs with TD run

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon paid off a 10-minute scoring drive with a 13-yard touchdown run against the Kansas City Chiefs.

What a way to start the second half.

The Houston Texans burned 10 minutes and 24 seconds off the game clock with running back Joe Mixon from 13 yards away on the 15th play of the drive.

On the ensuing extra point, Kai’imi Fairbairn missed wide right for the second time today, making it a one-point game.

Houston has suddenly found its ground game. The Texans are averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Houston has run the ball 27 times for 146 yards. Mixon has 17 carries for 84 yards.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud has also run the ball more often in the postseason. He’s scrambling at a career-high rate and has 43 rushing yards against Kansas City.

Houston has 100 more yards of offense than Kansas City through two and a half quarters.

Mixon’s touchdown is his fourth career playoff score. He has scored in each of the Texans’ postseason games this season. Mixon scored only two touchdowns in seven games with the Cincinnati Bengals.

With a win, the Texans would advance to its first-ever conference championship in franchise history.

Titans get No. 1 pick because of loss to Texans

The Houston Texans win in Week 18 helped the Tennessee Titans earned the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL Draft.

The Houston Texans won on Sunday.

In a sense, so did the Tennessee Titans.

With a 23-16 Texans win, mostly with a crop of offensive backups, the Titans have secured the No.1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

A victory in Nashville would have actually knocked the Titans out of reach and dropped them down outside the top five.

However, Brian Callahan’s roster needed a bit of help.

Tennessee did not enter the day with the No. 1 pick,  but moved past New England, who won with backup quarterback Joe Milton III starting against mostly the Buffalo Bills backups.

Tennessee’s strength of schedule is worse than the Giants and Browns, allowing them to be ahead of both teams despite having the same records.

The Titans will have to make decisions on Callahan’s future as well as general manager Ran Carthon. The franchise also likely will consider drafting a quarterback with the top selection, or trade it for ample draft capital.

 The draft’s top passers include Colorado’s Sheduer Sanders, son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, and Miami’s Cam Ward, who became the NCAA’s all-time passing touchdown leader this season.

The Titans wearing the throwback Houston Oilers uniforms against the Texans was fitting because Tennessee has never selected No. 1 overall but did twice while it was the Oilers. Their predecessors selected defensive end John Matuszak (1973) and Earl Campbell (1978).

Tennessee has had a slow fall from the top of the AFC South, which it won back-to-back years in 2020 and 2021. The Titans reached the AFC Conference Championship in 2019 but blew a double-digit lead to the Kansas City Chiefs. Tennessee has not made the playoffs since 2021 or won more than seven games in a season.

The AFC South has seen an influx of youth at the quarterback position in recent years, as each team has selected a quarterback in the top five of the NFL Draft; Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville, 2021; Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis, 2023; C.J. Stroud, Houston, 2023.

The NFL draft will be held just at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisc., on April 24-26.

WATCH: Texans RB Dameon Pierce scores franchise’s 2nd longest TD run

Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce went 92 yards to the end zone, which is the second longest touchdown run in franchise history.

Who knew Dameon Pierce had burners like that?

The Houston Texans third-year running back went virtually untouched on his way to a 92-yard touchdown run to put Houston up two scores against the Tennessee Titans.

Pierce now owns two of the four longest touchdown runs in Texans franchise history. His 75-yard score as a rookie ranks fourth while his 92-yard run is behind only Lamar Miller, who scored from 97 yards out in 2018.

With one run, Pierce nearly doubled his 2024 season total of 117 yards.

The Texans backup running back saw his greatly diminished with the arrival of Joe Mixon, who rushed for 1,000 yards this season.

Pierce also battled injuries throughout the 2024 season, missing six games. Entering Sunday he had 21 carries for 117 yards and one touchdown. Pierce now has two carries of 50 yards or more this season.

While Pierce has not been able to capture the same magic as a rookie out of the backfield, he has been one of the league’s best kick returners.

With eight kick returns, Pierce has averaged 38.13 yards per return.

Texans QB C.J. Stroud closes out regular season with on top with TD

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud concludes sophomore season after the opening drive against the Tennessee Titans.

Nobody knew exactly how long C.J. Stroud would play on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, but after completing his first six passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, his sophomore season appears to be over.

Well, at the least for the regular season.

The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year will be on the field next week for the Houston Texans in the wild-card round. Entering the afternoon slate, Houston will host against the Pittsburgh Steelers or Los Angeles Chargers as the No. 5 seed.

After a stellar rookie debut, Stroud completed 63.1 % of passes for 3,727 yards with 20 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. Stroud finished with better statistics in all of the categories as a rookie when he won Offensive Rookie of the Year and finished 8th in MVP voting.

Stroud’s regression statistically can partially be blamed on the struggles from Houston’s offensive line, which allowed 52 sacks. Only Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked more.

Aside from the regular season finale, opponents sacked Stroud at least once, including a season-high eight in a Halloween night loss to the New York Jets.

Houston began the season 5-1 with Stroud throwing for more than 250 yards in half of the contests. Stroud also threw 10 touchdown passes in the opening six-game stretch, matching his touchdown total in the last 11 games of the season.

Stroud did close his 2024 season with a strong first drive against the Tennessee Titans by completing six consecutive passes for 50 yards a touchdown.

With a win, the Texans will secure back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time since 2019.

WATCH: Nico Collins hit 1k receiving yards with TD catch

Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins hit 1,000 yards on the season with a two-yard touchdown catch from C.J. Stroud on Sunday.

The Houston Texans’ first offensive drive went as well as head coach DeMeco Ryans could have hoped.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud capped the opening drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. Houston’s drive lasted 11 plays, 69 yards and over seven minutes.

Despite already earning the 4th seed in the AFC playoff, Houston opted to play its starters in the regular season finale in an attempt to improve after the 34-2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, in which Houston failed to score an offensive touchdown.

Stroud finished the opening drive a perfect 6-for-6 with 50 yards and a touchdown. Collins hauled in four of the six passes for 32 yards and the score. Collins also surpassed 1,000 receiving yards on the touchdown catch.

Collins becomes the first Texans since Brandin Cooks to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

Running back Joe Mixon contributed five carries for 23 yards and one reception for five yards.

Mixon crossed 1,000 yards on the ground, becoming the first Texan to do so since Carlos Hyde in 2019.

With a win, the Texans would secure their second 10-win season under DeMeco Ryans and Stroud.

Houston plays host to either the Los Angeles Chargers or Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round next weekend.

WATCH: Texans WR Tank Dell scores TD vs. Chiefs

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass, but may be out for a while after suffering a scary injury.

The Houston Texans found the end zone but it came with a price.

On 2nd-and-7, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud went to the air on a deep play-action shot and connected with second-year receiver Tank Dell for a 30-yard score against the Kansas City Chiefs.

However, while making the catch, Dell had a Kansas City defensive back and Texans wide receiver inadvertently collide with his knee.

Dell remained down for a long period until the stretcher came out to cart him off the field.

Stroud was visible distraught after the play. Houston has already lost offensive lineman Shaq Mason and defensive back Jimmie Ward for the game, but Dell’s injury may be a season ender.

The Texans have already ruled out Dell for the remainder of the game.

Dell had his electric rookie season cut short with a leg injury. In 13 games in 2024, Dell had 45 receptions for 569 yards and two touchdowns.

Dell was in the midst of one of his best games of the year against Kansas City, catching six passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.

WATCH: Texans LB Christian Harris hammers Patrick Mahomes for first sack

Houston Texans linebacker Christian Harris tallied his first sack of the season with a takedown of Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes

Welcome back to the sack column,  Christian Harris.

The third-year Houston Texans linebacker to the field for the first time in the 2024 season last week against the Miami Dolphins. Harris tallied his first sack of the season on 2nd down against the Kansas City Chiefs by bringing Patrick Mahomes down.

Harris was questionable for Saturday’s contest with an ankle injury, but made progress later in the week to play his second game of the season.

Last year, Harris started 12 games and finished 101 total tackles and 12 sacks. He had a strong finish to the 2023 season, which led many to believe Harris would be in for a bigger 2024.

Harris suffered the calf injury in the preseason and it lingered until the bye in Week 14.

His return gives Houston three formidable linebackers with the emergence of Henry To’oTo’o and midseason signing Devin White.

The Texans will begin on defense to begin the third quarter.

Texans CB Derek Stingley Jr. might have sealed the game with one play

Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. made Miami’s comeback effort harder with a fourth quarter interception of Tua Tagovailoa.

The Miami Dolphins were threatening to potentially tie the game against the Houston Texans, but once again the defense made a play.

Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. undercut a pass intended for Tyreek Hill from Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has thrown two picks on Sunday after entering with 184 pass attempts without an interception.

Stingley was one-on-one with Hill, who has been held to just two receptions for 36 yards. Miami’s other top receiver Jaylen Waddle did not record a catch before leaving with an injury in the second quarter.

Stingley has four interceptions this season. Stingley and Calen Bullock join the Detroit Lions Kerby Joesph and Brian Branch as the only teammates with four or more interceptions.

Houston has three takeaways, which is the fifth time this season doing so.

Watch: Texans safety Calen Bullock make Defensive Rookie of the Year case with INT

Houston Texans rookie safety Calen Bullock extended his rookie interception lead by picking off Tua Tagovailoa for his fifth of the season.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had not thrown an interception in 204 pass attempts, which entering Sunday was the NFL’s longest streak.

Erase that record clean with one play in the second quarter.

Houston Texans rookie safety Calen Bullock reset the streak by intercepting Tagovailoa with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first half of Sunday’s contest.

Bullock’s pick is his fifth interception of the season, which leads all rookies. Houston has forced multiple turnovers in eight games this season.

Will Anderson Jr.’s strip-sack earlier in the game set up Houston’s lone touchdown of the afternoon. Houston added three points before halftime after Bullock returned the interception 68 yards.

Bullock was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft and was one of two defensive backs Houston selected.

 

Bullock and fellow rookie defensive back Kamari Lassiter have both emerged as two of the best rookie playmakers in the league.

With a win, the Texans would need an Indianapolis Colts’ loss against the Denver Broncos to clinch the AFC South division title.

Texans DE Will Anderson Jr. adds to DPOY case with strip sack against Tua Tagovailoa

Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. reached double digit sacks for the first time with a strip sack of Tua Tagovailoa.

The Houston Texans’ defense continued their streak of creating takeaways after the bye week.

Second-year defensive end Will Anderson Jr. defeated his block and chased down Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa from behind, stripping the ball loose and resulting in a recovery by defensive tackle Tim Settle.

Houston’s defense has forced a turnover in nine consecutive games, starting in Week 6 against the New England Patriots. In the nine-game span, Houston has 22 takeaways.

Anderson’s sack is the second of the game for Houston, who did not record one in its 23-20 win over Jacksonville before the bye week. For the second-year pro, Anderson reached double-digit sacks for the first time in his career.

This season, Anderson has 10.5 sacks through 12 games. Teammate and fellow Defensive Player of the Year candidate Danielle Hunter leads the team with 11 sacks after picking up a half sack earlier in the game against Miami.