Game recap
Bengals @ Texans
2026 Wk 2 · HOU 6, CIN 20
C.J. Stroud threw for 353 yards and Houston never scored a touchdown, going 0 for 4 on fourth down.
A quarterback has thrown for 350 yards in 975 regular season games since 1999. Only one of those teams scored fewer points than Houston's 6.
RareFewest team points in a 350 yard passing game, regular season, 1999 to 2026
| Quarterback | Season | Week | Team | Opp | Pass yds | Pass TD | Team pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | 2018 | 10 | TB | WAS | 406 | 0 | 3 |
| C.J. Stroud | 2026 | 2 | HOU | CIN | 353 | 0 | 6 |
| Peyton Manning | 2014 | 11 | DEN | LA | 389 | 1 | 7 |
| Andrew Luck | 2013 | 10 | IND | LA | 353 | 1 | 8 |
| Johnny Manziel | 2015 | 10 | CLE | PIT | 372 | 1 | 9 |
| Vinny Testaverde | 2003 | 2 | NYJ | MIA | 373 | 1 | 10 |
| Marc Bulger | 2003 | 9 | LA | SF | 378 | 1 | 10 |
| Aaron Brooks | 2005 | 2 | NO | NYG | 375 | 1 | 10 |
C.J. Stroud completed 30 of 55 passes for 353 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Five of the 975 games on this list ended with the passer's team in single digits, and Houston's 6 points is the second lowest figure among them. Stroud did not turn the ball over once, which makes the scoreboard harder to explain than Fitzpatrick's two interception day in 2018.
Why it matters. Passing yardage and points normally travel together, so a 350 yard day that produces 6 points says the yards were gained in the wrong places. Houston moved the ball between the 25s and stalled every time the field shrank. Without an interception to blame, the failure sits with situational offense: fourth downs, the red zone, and four sacks.
Cincinnati allowed 28.9 points a game in 2025, third most in the league. It held Houston to 6, its stingiest road game in eight seasons under Zac Taylor.
AnomalyMost points allowed per game, 2025 regular season
| Rank | Team | Games | Points allowed | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DAL | 17 | 511 | 30.1 |
| 2 | NYJ | 17 | 503 | 29.6 |
| 3 | CIN | 17 | 492 | 28.9 |
| 4 | ARI | 17 | 488 | 28.7 |
| 5 | TEN | 17 | 478 | 28.1 |
| 6 | WAS | 17 | 451 | 26.5 |
Every game in which a Zac Taylor Bengals team allowed 6 points or fewer (2019 to 2026)
| Season | Week | Opponent | Site | CIN pts | Opp pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 13 | NYJ | Home | 22 | 6 |
| 2024 | 16 | CLE | Home | 24 | 6 |
| 2026 | 2 | HOU | Away | 20 | 6 |
Taylor has coached 125 Bengals games, 63 of them away from Cincinnati. This is the third time his defense has allowed 6 points or fewer and the first time it has happened on the road. One week earlier the same unit gave up 27 to Tampa Bay in a 33 to 27 win.
Why it matters. The Bengals of the Burrow era have been built to outscore people, and the 2025 defense was the clearest example: only Dallas and the Jets allowed more points. A road game with no touchdown allowed is a different way of winning for this roster. Houston's own red zone failures did a lot of the work, so one game does not prove the defense has changed, but it never gave up the play that would have let Houston off the hook.
Joe Burrow's two touchdown passes to Ja'Marr Chase were the 49th and 50th of their regular season careers. No pair has more since Chase entered the league.
ComparisonMost regular season touchdown passes by a passer and receiver pair, 2021 to 2026
| Rank | Passer | Receiver | TD | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Burrow | Ja'Marr Chase | 50 | 2021 to 2026 |
| 2 | Jared Goff | Amon-Ra St. Brown | 48 | 2021 to 2026 |
| 3 | Dak Prescott | CeeDee Lamb | 35 | 2021 to 2026 |
| 4 | Patrick Mahomes | Travis Kelce | 34 | 2021 to 2025 |
| 5 | Matthew Stafford | Cooper Kupp | 33 | 2021 to 2024 |
| 6 | Lamar Jackson | Mark Andrews | 32 | 2021 to 2025 |
Burrow to Chase regular season touchdowns by season
| Season | TD |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 |
| 2022 | 9 |
| 2023 | 5 |
| 2024 | 17 |
| 2025 | 4 |
| 2026 | 2 |
Chase scored from 32 yards in the second quarter and from 18 in the third, finishing with 7 catches for 75 yards on 9 targets. It was his 14th regular season game with two or more touchdown catches. Counting from 1999, Burrow and Chase are the 18th pair to reach 50, level with Jeff Garcia to Terrell Owens and Tony Romo to Dez Bryant.
Why it matters. Goff and St. Brown are only two behind, so the lead is narrow, but the two pairs get there differently. Detroit's connection is built on volume underneath. Both Cincinnati scores in this game were thrown deep right, and they were the only touchdowns either team scored. When an offense manages 268 yards, a pairing that can create points from outside the 15 is the difference between 20 and 6.
Dalton Schultz's 140 receiving yards are the most by a tight end in Texans history. Houston never got him, or anyone else, into the end zone.
MilestoneMost receiving yards in a game by a Houston tight end, 2002 to 2026 (postseason included)
| Rank | Player | Season | Week | Opp | Rec | Yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dalton Schultz | 2026 | 2 | CIN | 12 | 140 |
| 2 | Garrett Graham | 2013 | 11 | LV | 7 | 136 |
| 3 | Owen Daniels | 2008 | 9 | MIN | 11 | 133 |
| 4 | Dalton Schultz | 2023 | 9 | TB | 10 | 130 |
| 5 | James Casey | 2011 | 3 | NO | 5 | 126 |
| 6 | Owen Daniels | 2009 | 7 | SF | 7 | 123 |
Houston receiving in this game, top five by yards
| Player | Pos | Targets | Rec | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalton Schultz | TE | 14 | 12 | 140 | 0 |
| Kayshon Boutte | WR | 5 | 3 | 37 | 0 |
| Xavier Hutchinson | WR | 9 | 3 | 37 | 0 |
| Foster Moreau | TE | 2 | 2 | 34 | 0 |
| Jared Wayne | WR | 7 | 2 | 33 | 0 |
Schultz caught 12 of 14 targets, both career highs for catches and yards; his previous best was 10 for 130 against Tampa Bay in 2023. No other Houston player reached 40 yards. The four wide receivers who were targeted combined for 9 catches on 26 targets.
Why it matters. A tight end absorbing 14 targets is usually a sign that the outside options are not winning, and the wide receiver line here (9 of 26) supports that reading. Cincinnati conceded the middle of the field and took away everything else, a trade that costs yards but rarely costs touchdowns. The franchise record is real, and it is also a description of how the Bengals chose to defend.
Evan McPherson has made three field goals from 55 yards or longer through two games. From 1999 through 2025, no kicker opened a season with more than two.
RareKickers with two or more made field goals of 55+ yards in Weeks 1 and 2 of a season, since 1999
| Kicker | Season | Made from 55+ |
|---|---|---|
| Evan McPherson | 2026 | 3 |
| Brandon McManus | 2015 | 2 |
| Matt Prater | 2017 | 2 |
| Harrison Butker | 2020 | 2 |
| Daniel Carlson | 2022 | 2 |
| Jake Elliott | 2023 | 2 |
| Chase McLaughlin | 2024 | 2 |
| Ka'imi Fairbairn | 2024 | 2 |
| Chris Boswell | 2024 | 2 |
| Joey Slye | 2025 | 2 |
| Jake Elliott | 2025 | 2 |
| Harrison Butker | 2025 | 2 |
| Chris Boswell | 2025 | 2 |
Field goal attempts of 50+ yards in this game
| Kicker | Team | Quarter | Distance | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evan McPherson | CIN | 3 | 51 | Good |
| Ka'imi Fairbairn | HOU | 3 | 58 | No good, short |
| Evan McPherson | CIN | 4 | 57 | Good |
McPherson hit from 55 and 58 against Tampa Bay in Week 1, then from 51 and 57 in Houston. Both kicks in this game finished drives that gained 33 yards or fewer. Between them, Ka'imi Fairbairn came up short from 58 with Houston trailing 10 to 3.
Why it matters. Cincinnati's offense gained 268 yards and produced 20 points, and 6 of those came on drives that never crossed the Houston 33. A kicker with this range changes where a stalled drive still counts as a scoring chance. The contrast was on the field in the third quarter: from nearly the same distance, one team added 3 points and the other handed over the ball near midfield.
With the game scoreless, Houston drove 86 and 48 yards and came away with nothing. Cincinnati went 81 yards on the next possession and never trailed.
TrendThree straight possessions that decided the game, all starting at 0 to 0
| Team | Started | Plays | Yards | Reached | Ended with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | Own 8, 1st quarter | 12 | 86 | CIN 16 | Fake field goal on 4th and 4, incomplete |
| HOU | Own 33, 2nd quarter | 7 | 48 | CIN 18 | 4th and 1 run, loss of 1 |
| CIN | Own 19, 2nd quarter | 7 | 81 | End zone | Burrow to Chase, 32 yard touchdown |
Fourth down attempts in this game
| Team | Attempts | Converted |
|---|---|---|
| HOU | 4 | 0 |
| CIN | 0 | 0 |
The first five possessions of the game were punts. Houston then held the ball for 19 plays across two drives and twice passed up a short field goal: punter Kai Kroeger's throw out of field goal formation fell incomplete from the 16, and David Montgomery was stopped behind the line on fourth and 1 from the 18. Those two snaps cost Houston 3.30 and 4.35 expected points. Houston finished 0 for 4 on fourth down.
Why it matters. Two decisions inside the 20 swung roughly 7.65 expected points while the score was still level, which is more than half of the final margin. Going for it in that range is defensible by the numbers; the execution is what failed, first on a trick play and then on a run with a lineman reporting as eligible. After Chase's touchdown Houston spent the rest of the game chasing, and its 55 pass attempts followed from that.
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