Notebook: Houston Texans Earn Gritty Win Over Arizona Cardinals

The Houston Texans were bitten by the turnover bug on Sunday, but they held on for a win over the Arizona Cardinals.

The Houston Texans are now winners of three straight games, but Sunday's win was anything but easy. 

Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud was bitten by the turnover bug against the Arizona Cardinals, but he still managed to put up some big stats in the final box score. Here are three observations from the Texans' win on Sunday that moved them to 6-4 on the season.

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

1. There was finally a glimpse of "rookie" in C.J. Stroud, but he was still rather impressive on Sunday.

Stroud threw three interceptions in Sunday's win, including a late one that almost cost his team the game, had the Cardinals been able to find the end zone on the ensuing possession. Still, he put up 336 passing yards and two scores, so even though this was his worst game from a turnover perspective this season, it still wasn't "bad," per se. 

That goes to show just how impressive he is at a young age.

2. How about the Texans defense?

There were multiple times after turnovers that the Texans could have folded, but the defense managed to stand tall and prevent the Cardinals from claiming a late lead. Stroud has understandably garnered the headlines for Houston this season, but if the Texans want to make a playoff push, clutch performances from the defense will be necessary down the stretch. This performance can't be understated from Sunday. 

3. Tank Dell has no reason to be an "under the radar" rookie on this team.

I'm not sure that Dell really classifies as being "under the radar," but he doesn't get as much attention as Stroud because of his position on the field. Still, his touchdown reception in the first half of Sunday's game was the stuff of highlight reels, and this tandem of Stroud and Dell should make Texans fans very, very excited for the future. The weapons are there for this season and in the years ahead.

Despite Stroud's Second Half Struggles, Texans Top Arizona at Home