Texans vs. Panthers: Game highlights, final score, and more

The Houston Texans hosted the Carolina Panthers in Week 4 of the NFL season, and for Houston it was a game that saw them fall to 2-2 overall, losing by a 16-10 score.

On Sunday, the offense of the Houston Texans didn’t have a very good performance as they were held to a touchdown in the second half, and a field goal for their total scoring. Combined with some confusing play calling, and trick-play attempts, it resulted in a six-point loss against the Carolina Panthers.

The Texans (2-2) saw their leading receiver be DeAndre Hopkins with five receptions for 41 yards on eight targets, though most of those yards were late in the game. The sign it was a tough game for the offense was that Kenny Stills —  who was injured in the first half — finished as the second leading receiver on the Texans with two receptions for 24 yards. Will Fuller followed with three receptions for 23 yards.

Having a combined 88 yards from the top three wide receivers can’t happen. The Texans also took a step backwards in the Week 4 loss, especially compared to how they played last week against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Houston’s defense played well by forcing three fumbles by Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen with those fumbles being forced by J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus and Brennan Scarlett. Watt, Mercilus and Scarlett also had sacks on those forced fumbles.

Next are the highlights for the Texans vs. Panthers as provided by the official NFL Twitter page.

Allen avoiding the sack of Watt on the play below resulted in a first down, and worse for the Texans. The dive continued for the Panthers until they kicked a field goal to take a 16-10 lead with 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

This catch by Christian McCaffrey was outstanding, and it is tough to stop a player with the skills of the Panthers running back, even with some of the talented players on the Texans defense.

The official Twitter account of the NFL is a fan of the celebration by Brennan Scarlett and Mercilus. When this happens it means the defense of the Texans did something well.

This was the lone touchdown by the Texans against the Panthers in Week 4, and it happened in the third quarter. The play was set up by the forced fumble by Watt that gave the Texans the ball in the red zone.

This is the type of play everyone wants to see from Watt each and every week, and now for two straight weeks he’s really increased the success of the pass rush. Watt is gaining more momentum each and every week as this play shows with the sack and forced fumble.

Duke Johnson is shown making an excellent play for a 40-yard gain at a time where the Texans offense needed a boost. Johnson finished the game with six carries for 56 yards.

This was the first forced fumble caused by the Houston defense, and it was an outstanding play by Scarlett with the big hit that caused the turnover.

This was the first play of the game that really stood out, and it went in favor of the Panthers.  McCaffrey made the Texans look-and-miss on a play that resulted in a first down for Carolina. McCaffrey finished the game with 27 carries for 93 yards rushing and one touchdown run. He also led the Panthers with 10 receptions for 86 yards, catching all 10 targets that went his way.

Next for the Texans is Week 5 when they will be facing the Atlanta Falcons in NRG Stadium. The Falcons lost in Week 4 to the Tennessee Titans, 24-10 with Atlanta dropping to 1-3 overall.