Houston’s offense reached a new low on Sunday night when the Texans lost to the Detroit Lions, even though they intercepted Jared Goff five times, setting a franchise record.
The Texans were up by 16 points at halftime, but they allowed the Lions to score 19 unanswered points in the second half, leading to a 26-23 loss.
C.J. Stroud was intercepted twice on Houston’s first three possessions of the second half, and the Texans punted three times after the second interception. They still had a chance to take the lead at the end, but Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 58-yard field goal attempt missed wide left.
Jake Bates kicked a 52-yard field goal as time ran out, handing Houston (6-4) its third loss in four games after a strong 5-1 start.
“We didn’t play winning football,” said coach DeMeco Ryans. “We stalled on a lot of drives and didn’t score any points in the second half. To beat a good football team like that, we have to be able to sustain drives. We have to be able to score points. We were going backwards way too much.”
Stroud tied a season high with two interceptions, after having gone three games without a pick. He was frustrated with his performance in the second half.
“Defense is getting the turnovers like they were, so we’ve got to be able to reward them with points,” Stroud said. “That’s something we didn’t do. I feel like I’m the one to blame when it comes to that.”
The Texans often found themselves in third-and-long situations against the Lions, struggling to run the ball. Houston finished with just 56 rushing yards, their second-lowest total of the season.
“We have to win first and second down,” Ryans said. “Too many negative plays on first and second down. We didn’t run the ball well. … When you don’t play well on first and second down, you find yourself in third-and-long, and it’s hard to continuously win third-and-long.”
