Stroud’s Two Touchdowns Lift Texans Past Titans, 26-3

Stroud’s scores

C.J. Stroud’s 2-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter gave Houston a 19-3 lead, and the quarterback later threw 9 yards to Jaylin Noel for the final score as the Texans defeated the Tennessee Titans 26-3 on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

Stroud completed 26 of 34 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown. His rushing score, followed by Ka’imi Fairbairn’s kick, was Houston’s first touchdown of the game. The fourth-quarter pass to Noel, also followed by a Fairbairn kick, completed the scoring.

Field goals shape first half

Tennessee opened the scoring when Joey Slye made a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter. Fairbairn answered with a 45-yard field goal, leaving the score tied 3-3 after the opening period.

Fairbairn added field goals of 35, 26 and 53 yards in the second quarter. Houston led 12-3 at halftime after outscoring Tennessee 9-0 in the period. The Texans then scored 7 points in each of the final two quarters, while the Titans were held scoreless in both.

Houston’s quarter-by-quarter scoring was 3, 9, 7 and 7. Tennessee’s was 3, 0, 0 and 0.

Passing and rushing leaders

Woody Marks led Houston’s rushing effort with 15 carries for 62 yards. Xavier Hutchinson caught four passes for 65 yards for the Texans.

For Tennessee, Cam Ward completed 23 of 36 passes for 170 yards and had one interception. Tony Pollard carried 14 times for 52 yards, and Wan’Dale Robinson had six receptions for 53 yards.

Records

Houston, the visiting team, moved to 1-4. Tennessee, the home team, fell to 0-5. Attendance at Nissan Stadium was 52,097.

Sources

ESPN