HOUSTON (AP) — C.J. Stroud threw a touchdown pass in limited work in his preseason debut to help the Houston Texans to a 20-3 win over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday.
Stroud, who sat out in last week’s 20-10 loss at Minnesota, played two series Saturday, going 6 for 8 for 44 yards. The Texans punted on their first possession before Stroud connected with Nico Collins on a 5-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to cap the second drive and make it 7-0.
Collins is coming off consecutive 1,000-yard seasons
after he led the Texans with 68 receptions for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns despite missing five games with an injury.
Nick Chubb ran five times for 25 yards in his Texans’ debut after spending his first seven seasons in Cleveland. Chubb played with the starters with Joe Mixon out recovering from a foot injury he sustained this offseason.
Stroud, who has led the Texans to the postseason in both of his first two seasons, has a new offensive coordinator this year in Nick Caley after the former Patriots and Rams assistant was hired this offseason following the firing of Bobby Slowik.
Carolina’s Bryce Young, the first overall pick in the 2023 draft when Stroud was taken second, failed to move the offense in two drives. He was 0 for 2 and was sacked once Saturday after directing the offense for two drives with a TD pass in last week’s 30-10 loss to Cleveland.
Andy Dalton replaced him and was 2 of 4 for 22 yards before leaving with a right elbow injury.
Rookie Ryan Fitzgerald’s 52-yard field goal cut the lead to 7-3 about two minutes before halftime.
Ka’imi Fairbairn made a 41-yard field goal just before halftime and added a 35-yard kick early in the third quarter to push the lead to 13-3.
The Texans intercepted third-string quarterback Jack Plummer on consecutive drives in the second half. Damon Arnette grabbed the second one and three plays later the Texans made it 20-3 when British Brooks scored on a 1-yard run.
Arnette, a first-round pick in 2020, is attempting a comeback after his career was derailed by legal troubles and he played just 13 games over two seasons before being released by the Raiders. He hasn’t appeared in a regular-season NFL game since 2021 and last played for the UFL’s Houston Roughnecks.
Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn didn’t play because of a thumb injury and left guard Damien Lewis also sat out because of a shoulder injury.
Panthers: Wrap up the preseason Thursday night when they host Pittsburgh.
Texans: End their preseason Saturday at Detroit.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
