The Houston Texans won another game in the tournament to advance farther in the postseason, defeating the Arizona Cardinals by a score of five points at home.
The Houston Texans defeated the Arizona Cardinals 21-16 on Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium. A very interesting game took place between two teams from different conferences.
The Houston Texans needed to win to stay ahead of the competition as they were in second place in the AFC South. After a hard game against the Cincinnati Bengals, which the Texans won 30-27 thanks to a last-second field goal, they were looking for their second victory of the year. Due to the closeness of the conference, losing could prevent you from making the postseason. They therefore wanted to win this game and guarantee their spot in second place overall in the standings.
However, the Arizona Cardinals had a rough start to the tournament and wanted to snap their losing streak by winning the away game. The Jonathan Gannon-led squad needed a win to overtake the Rams for third place in the NFC West, where they were currently ranked fourth.
When the game began, the Arizona Cardinals led by seven points after Kyler Murray found Rondale Moore with a 48-yard pass on their opening offensive drive. But the Texans would answer at the 5:48 mark, when Dalton Schultz got a pass from C.J. Stroud and only needed to take one step to enter the end zone, tying the score. Matt Prater kicked a 57-yard field goal to end the quarter and give the Cardinals a three-point lead. The first quarter saw a lot of scoring, with the Arizona team winning the quarter with a slim 3-point advantage.
The Houston Texans controlled the second quarter. Devin Singletary scored a touchdown on the ground after eluding multiple tacklers, and his team’s lead was restored. C.J. Stroud throws a 40-yard pass to Tank Dell in the end zone with seconds remaining in the game. The Arizona Cardinals were ahead 10–21 against the Houston Texans at the half.
Coming back from the break, the Arizona Cardinals attacked with everything they had and showed an impeccable defense. At the 2:52 minute mark, Kyler Murray ran a one-yard run to bring his team closer to the scoreboard, but then they tried a two-point conversion that fell one yard short. The Texans were up by 5 points and would have to defend their lead in the final quarter.
