Texans Daily

Late C.J. Stroud Heroics Help Houston Texans Survive Late Scare in Win vs. Cincinnati Bengals

The Houston Texans battled the Cincinnati Bengals back and forth in a thriller on Sunday afternoon

Matt Galatzan

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The Houston Texans have been banging on the door of a winning record all season long, and on Sunday, they finally broke through, taking town Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals 30-27 and moving to 5-4 overall.

It was anything but easy, however.

Leading 27-17 late in the fourth quarter and coming off of a Joe Burrow interception, the Texans seemed primed to seal the win and walk out of Paycor Stadium with a double-digit win.

However, on the very next drive after the Burrow pick, Texans rookie C.J. Stroud gave Cincinnati the ball right back, throwing an interception of his own, which the Bengals turned into a quick touchdown. 

And after getting stopped again on their next drive, the Texans were forced to punt the ball away.

The Bengals turned that punt into a field goal, tying the game with under two minutes to go.

That is when Stroud came back alive, however, leading another game-winning drive resulting in a field goal from newly-signed Matt Ammendola to end the game for Houston.

While Sunday wasn't quite at the same level as his record-setting performance vs. the Buccanneers, Stroud still shined bright when it mattered most, completing 23 of 39 passes for 356 yards and a touchdown.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) fakes a handoff in the second quarter of a Week 10 NFL football game between the Houston Texans and the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023
C.J. Stroud vs. the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday :: Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK

It was Stroud's fourth game of the season in which he surpassed 300 yards and his second straight.

All that said, Stroud was far from the only factor in the Texans' Sunday win.

Running back Devin Singletary was also a major factor for Houston on Sunday, rushing for 150 yards on 30 carries with a touchdown of his own. With the 150 yards, Singletary became the first Texans back to go over 100 yards on the ground this season.

Following the win, the Texans are above .500 for the first time since Deshaun Watson led Houston into the divisional playoff round against the Kansas City Cheifs in 2019.

Houston will now turn its attention to a home matchup vs. the 1-8 Arizona Cardinals at NRG Stadium.

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan the Editor-In-Chief of TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com