The Houston Texans’ offense never found its footing Sunday, and that was the difference in a 20-6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at home in Week 2.
This one had a defensive feel from the jump. Both teams traded punts repeatedly in the first quarter, and Cincinnati had a chance to put points on the board before the period ended, but a false start on offensive lineman Dalton Risner pushed the Bengals back and ended that drive with another punt.
Houston had its own opening to seize control. CJ Stroud guided the Texans into field-goal range on the next possession, but the attempt went sideways when the Texans fumbled the snap and came away with nothing. A solid Houston drive after that also went empty when David Montgomery was tackled in the backfield on fourth and short, turning the ball over on downs.
Once Cincinnati finally settled in, Joe Burrow started finding Tee Higgins and then delivered a sharp throw to JaMar Chase for the game’s first touchdown, giving the Bengals a 7-0 lead.
The Texans answered with a drive of their own, moving into the red zone before stalling out. Ka'imi Fairbairn finished that series with a 37 yard field goal, trimming the deficit to 7-3. That score held through the rest of the half, with the Bengals punting once more and Houston going quiet on its final possession before intermission.
Cincinnati came out of halftime and pushed the lead further. After Houston was forced to punt on its first series of the third quarter, Evan McPherson drilled a 51 yard field goal to make it 10-3. Stroud then led another Texans march, but Fairbairn missed a 58-yard field goal by a narrow margin.
That miss proved costly. Burrow took over again and capped the next Bengals drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Chase, stretching the margin to 17-3. Houston briefly kept pace with a drive that set up Fairbairn for a 45-yard field goal, but Cincinnati answered right back with McPherson connecting on a 57-yard field goal to push the score to 20-6.
From there, both defenses took back over. The teams exchanged punts twice, Houston turned it over on downs, and after Cincinnati ran the ball three times to force the Texans to burn the rest of their timeouts, the Bengals punted the ball back. Houston’s final possession went nowhere and ended with another turnover on downs, and Cincinnati closed it out by taking a knee.
Burrow and the Bengals simply moved the ball more consistently than Stroud and the Texans, and that was enough to leave Cincinnati at 2-0 while Houston fell to 0-2. Heading into Week 3, the question is whether the Texans can finally get in the win column, while the Bengals will try to keep their perfect start rolling.
In Other News...
C.J. Strouds Brutal Texans Stat Says Everything About This Loss
Even in a game where the scoreboard told the story, C.J. Stroud managed to carve out a strange little corner of NFL history. In the Texans 20-6 loss to the Bengals in Week 2, the second-year quarterback did what he could to keep Houston afloat, throwing for 353 yards on 55 attempts while avoiding turnovers in a night when the offense rarely found the end zone.
The result made the stat line feel even more jarring: Stroud became the first quarterback in NFL history to top 350 passing yards without an interception in a game his team still scored fewer than 10 points. For Houston, it was the kind of loss that leaves both sides of the ball with questions, but it also showed how much the Texans are leaning on Stroud even when the offense around him isn't finishing drives. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Run Game Faces An Early Test C.J. Stroud Cant Ignore
The Texans spent the offseason trying to take some of the burden off C.J. Stroud by giving their ground game more structure and support, and Week 1 offered an early look at where that project stands. Against the Bills, the running backs brought effort but not much efficiency, with David Montgomery finishing at 3.0 yards per carry as Houston searched for a steadier way to stay ahead of the chains.
Now the attention shifts to Cincinnati, where the rebuilt offensive line and backfield get another tough assignment. The Bengals bring a defensive front that can make life difficult in a hurry, and the presence of Dexter Lawrence II only raises the degree of difficulty for a Texans run game still trying to prove it can be more than a work in progress. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Offense Already Has An Early Problem They Need To Fix
The Texans are already dealing with an offense that looks out of sync two weeks into the season, and the loss to the Bengals only sharpened the concern. Without Nico Collins because of a hamstring injury, Houston had trouble stretching the field, and the passing game leaned heavily on Dalton Schultz, who finished with 12 catches for 140 yards while the rest of the attack struggled to find much rhythm.
The bigger issue was how little the run game and red zone offense offered when the Texans needed balance most. David Montgomery and Woody Marks combined for just 18 yards on 14 carries, and Houston came away empty on all four of its red zone trips. At 0-2, the Texans do not need to panic yet, but they do need answers quickly if this offense is going to keep up in the AFC South. [Read more 🡒]