The Houston Texans set a new team record on Sunday night by intercepting Detroit quarterback Jared Goff five times, a career-high for him. However, the Texans couldn’t take advantage of those turnovers and became the first NFL team in almost 12 years to lose a game after getting five or more interceptions, falling 26-23 to the Lions.
“We didn’t make the plays to win the game … to win games, guys have to step up and make plays, and that’s not happening,” said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans.
The Lions made history by becoming the first team to win a game despite throwing five or more interceptions since Atlanta did it against Arizona on November 18, 2012, when Matt Ryan was intercepted five times.
The Texans led 23-7 at halftime but couldn’t score in the second half, with quarterback C.J. Stroud throwing two interceptions.
“I blame this game on me,” Stroud said. “I’ve got to be better in those moments. When the defense is getting turnovers like they did, we’ve got to be able to reward them with points.”
This loss marks the second in a row for the Texans (6-4), who also lost to the New York Jets last week. Houston has now dropped three of its last four games after starting the season 5-1.
While Goff threw three interceptions in the first half and two more in the third quarter, the Lions managed to score 16 unanswered points to tie the game with about five minutes left, thanks to a 58-yard field goal by Jake Bates.
The Texans had a chance to regain the lead with under two minutes remaining, but Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 58-yard field goal attempt was wide left.
Detroit sealed the win with a 52-yard field goal by Bates as time expired.
Running back Joe Mixon, who scored a touchdown in the first quarter, said it was tough to lose another game the team felt they should have won. Still, he is confident the Texans will bounce back.
“Listen, we’re not going to flinch,” Mixon said. “I promise you that we’re not going nowhere when it comes down to it. We know what team we are. We know what we’re capable of, and when it comes down to it, we’ve just got to finish. We’ve got to play better.”
Mixon was limited to 46 rushing yards after running for over 100 yards in his previous four games.
The Texans’ offensive line performed better than in their loss to the Jets, where Stroud was sacked a season-high eight times. However, they still allowed four sacks on Sunday, and Stroud faced heavy pressure for much of the second half.
Despite these struggles, Stroud took responsibility for the team’s performance and vowed to improve.
“It’s hard to lose like that when our defense plays so well,” Stroud said. “We’re just not scoring points at the end of the day, but we can’t just keep our heads down. We’ve got to get our heads up and go back to work.”
