Ka’imi Fairbairn made all four of his field-goal tries, including a 53-yarder just before halftime, and the Houston Texans pulled away from the Tennessee Titans in the second half for a 26-3 win on Sunday, October 11, at Nissan Stadium.
It is Houston’s first victory of the season after four straight losses, and it came minutes before word broke that the Texans had traded for receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Tennessee drops to 0-5.
C.J. Stroud ➡️ Jaylin Noel for the touchdown!@HOUvsTEN on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/yUJBMVAv0r— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2026
How Houston took control
The Titans scored first on a 30-yard Joey Slye field goal midway through the first quarter, and that was the end of their scoring. Fairbairn tied it from 45 yards late in the opening period, then added kicks of 35, 26 and 53 yards in the second quarter to send Houston into the break ahead 12-3.
The Texans finally reached the end zone in the third quarter, when C.J. Stroud kept the ball himself and scored from 2 yards out with 6:37 left for a 19-3 cushion. Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Stroud found Jaylin Noel for a 9-yard touchdown that closed the scoring.
The numbers behind it
Stroud completed 26 of 34 passes for 261 yards without an interception. Xavier Hutchinson led the receivers with 65 yards on four catches, Nico Collins had five grabs for 56 yards, and Noel finished with five catches for 41 yards. Woody Marks ran 15 times for 62 yards.
Houston’s defense did the rest. The Texans sacked Cam Ward four times for 40 yards, forced two turnovers and stopped Tennessee on both of its fourth-down attempts. Linebacker Jake Hansen intercepted Ward and broke up two other passes, and Azeez Al-Shaair led the team with 11 tackles. Ward finished 23 of 36 for 170 yards, and the Titans gained just 187 yards while losing the time of possession by more than nine minutes. Tony Pollard ran for 52 yards on 14 carries, and Wan’Dale Robinson caught six passes for 53 yards.
The one blemish for Houston was discipline: the Texans were flagged 11 times for 95 yards and converted only two of four red-zone trips into touchdowns.
What comes next
The Texans visit the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, October 18, at 9:30 a.m. EDT, possibly with Harrison in uniform; read more on the trade. The Titans travel to the Indianapolis Colts the same day at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Every play is in the Game Center.
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