HOUSTON -- The Texans didn't punt until the fourth quarter and cruised to a 40-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
It's Houston's sixth straight win after starting the season 3-5, and at one point 0-3. The Texans remain one of the hottest teams in the NFL, positioning themselves as the seventh and final seed in the AFC at 9-5.
They were in control against Arizona from the start of the game. It took just two plays for C.J. Stroud to find Nico Collins on a crossing route for a 57-yard touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Texans reserve linebacker Jamal Hill forced a fumble that was recovered by running back Dare Ogunbowale, which led to a Texans field goal to put them up 10-0 just four minutes into it.
"That was a goal of ours, to start fast," Stroud said after the game. "I thought Nico did a great job of creating separation. Before the snap, I'm like 'Hey man, stay alive right here.' We knew they were going man, so he beat his man. I beat the help and he turned good into great."
Collins certainly put himself in elite company with his three catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns against the Cardinals. He became the third wide receiver in Texans history with three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons, joining Hall of Famer Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins, who had four All-Pro seasons in Houston.
But Collins wasn't even the main character in this blowout. It was actually second-year running back Jawhar Jordan, who saw his first live action on offense after being called up from the practice squad over the weekend.
Jordan carried the ball 15 times for 101 yards, including an impressive 50-yard run in the third quarter, which set up a short touchdown toss from Stroud to tight end Dalton Schultz.
The 2024 sixth-round pick out of Louisville seemed unlikely to contribute in such a way, but was thrust into action with a rib injury that kept Nick Chubb out of the game and an ankle injury that limited starting running back Woody Marks, who DeMeco Ryans later said could have played more down the stretch if they needed him.
But Jordan was a bright spot for a team that so badly wants to establish a credible, if not dominant run game. And one that lost Joe Mixon for the season due to a mysterious offseason injury, then during the season waived Dameon Pierce, who was once a promising player for them.
Enter Jordan, suddenly someone the Texans can now go to in a pinch.
"With Jawhar, just taking advantage of what you've been given, you never know how guys will respond," Ryans said after the game. "But we've seen flashes of it in practice. For him to come out and do it today, it was really cool to see and I'm really proud of him for just staying the course. It's easy to get discouraged, when you're not getting called up. It's easy to get discouraged. I think he's handled himself the right way every week and taken advantage of it today."
The Texans once again won the time of possession and turnover battles, which along with an elite defense, a consistent run game and some explosives downfield is the ideal formula for this squad, especially against a three-win outfit like the Cardinals.
While it's unusual for the Texans' defense to give up 20 points, they did so after establishing a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and a 23-7 lead at halftime. Twenty-three is typically enough points for this team to win and it still would have been without the 17 second-half points.
There were also exceptional performances on defense and special teams for Houston. Kamari Lassiter recorded his fourth interception of the season and his 14 passes defensed are the fourth-most by any player in the league this year.
Danielle Hunter reached 12 sacks on the season, which is his third straight year with at least as many sacks and sixth time in his career.
Jaylin Noel had 108 yards on two kickoff returns, including one for 69 yards, which turned out to be an important field advantage for Houston.
Ka'imi Fairbairn hit four of his five field goal and extra-point attempts (one was blocked by 39-year-old Calais Campbell).
It was an all-around convincing victory for a team with much higher aspirations.
"I think three phases of football," Stroud said when asked what excites him most about how Houston is playing right now. "We're playing together. I think offensively we're getting better every week, getting hot. We're getting hot at the right time, starting to… We’re trending up towards December going into January. We got to keep this going. It's going to be a one-game-at-a-time mentality, one-play-at-a-time mentality, then we'll look up at the end of the year and see where we're at."
They didn't get a ton of help around league when it comes to the standings. The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the New York Jets 48-20. The Buffalo Bills beat the New England Patriots 35-31 and the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 16-13, officially knocking Kansas City out of playoff contention.
Houston's season in so many ways feels like it's just beginning, almost like the rough start never even happened, given what's in front of them now.
When asked what he thinks the biggest reason for the Texans' turnaround is, Stroud pointed to their ability to finish games.
"I think looking back at those games, we were in the games. There is always plays here and there you want back," Stroud said of Houston's rocky start to the season. "At the end of the day when you got the ball or you need a stop, we want to be the guys on the field. I think the ability that we're finishing with now in these close games, in games like this, taking care of business when we need to. For me it's the finish, us playing hard every play all the way to the end and pulling out the W."
The Texans host the Las Vegas Raiders next Sunday at 3:25 p.m. CT.