Five keys to 6-4 Texans’ 26-23 Sunday night loss to Detroit Lions

HOUSTON – Inside a somber locker room late Sunday night, the Texans took stock after an epic collapse cost them a prime opportunity to upset the Detroit Lions on primetime television.

Not scoring a single point in the second, not capitalizing on five interceptions of Lions quarterback Jared Goff, allowing 19 unanswered points, throwing interceptions, being a bad red-zone team, it all spelled a disappointing outcome.

The Texans lost to the Lions 26-23 at NRG Stadium for their second consecutive primetime defeat one week after being embarrassed by the New York Jets to drop to 6-4 overall.

“The frustration is high because we should have won that football game,” Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil told KPRC 2.

Here are five keys to the game:

1. Second half collapse lowlighted by turnovers.

On the first play of the second half, Texans Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud badly underthrew a wide open Tank Dell in the end zone on a late arriving pass intercepted by Lions cornerback Carlton Davis.

If Stroud had delivered the football on time, the Texans would have held a commanding 17-point lead. Instead, they lost another chance to put the Lions further in t

It was the first of two interceptions by Stroud, who entered Sunday with just four interceptions overall for the season.

In the second half, he completed just 5 of 13 passes for 68 yards and two interceptions for a 16.3 passer rating.

The Texans were outscored 19-0 after halftime and haven’t scored a second-half touchdown since an Oct. 13 road victory over the New England Patriots.

“I blame this game on me,” Stroud said. “I’ve got to be better in those moments. When the defense is getting turnovers like they did, we’ve got to be able to reward them with points.

“It’s hard to lose like that when our defense plays so good. We’re just not scoring points at the end of the day, but we can’t just keep our heads down. We’ve got to get our heads up and go back to work.”

2. Squandering five interceptions

The Texans’ defense was in Goff’s head, confusing him and jumping passing lanes throughout the game.

It wasn’t enough. They could have had a sixth interception that skipped off the hands of cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.

Rookie cornerback Kamari Lassiter intercepted Goff twice, who was also picked off by safety Jimmie Ward, linebacker Henry To’oTo’o and safety Calen Bullock.

They rarely capitalized, though.

The Texans went just 2 for 4 in the red zone, though.

And the Texans became the first NFL team in nearly 12 years to lose despite intercepting five or more passes. The Lions overcame the largest halftime deficit, a 16-point halftime lead from the Texans, and threw five or more interceptions and still win the game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The Texans are only the second team since 1933 to lose despite having five interceptions and building a lead of at least 15 points. The last time this happened was in 1970 when the Chicago Bears lost to the Baltimore Colts as quarterback Johnny Unitas threw five interceptions.

“The second half was not good enough,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We didn’t play winning football, we stalled on a lot of drives, and didn’t score any points in the second half. To beat a good football team like that, we have to be able to sustain drives, we have to be able to score points, and we were going backward way too much.”

3. A costly missed field goal, a huge boot by a local kicker

An uncharacteristic high snap from veteran long snapper Jon Weeks contributed to kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn pushing a 58-yard field goal attempt in the final minutes of the fourth quarter wide left.

“I put my guys in a s--tty spot,” Weeks told KPRC 2. “I delivered a s--tty ball and (holder) Tommy (Townsend) did th ebest he could it and ‘Imi did the best he could with it. I’ve got to live with that. I let my guys down and that sucks. I’m going to have to get back to work.”

And former Tomball High soccer player Jake Bates, a former Texans training camp invitee who never attempted a field goal at Arkansas and Texas State as a kickoff specialist low on the depth chart, booted a 52-yard field goal to put the game away as the clock expired. Bates also nailed a 58-yard field goal and he’s now a perfect 14 for 14 for the season.

“Definitely should have won this game,” Stroud said. “My job is to lead the offense to score points, and I didn’t do that today. ... We really should have put them away after the first half. It’s really on the offense.”

4. Running game stymied, playcalling conservative

For the first time in a month, Texans Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon didn’t hit the century mark for rushing yards.

He was limited to 46 yards on 25 carries with one touchdown. He caught two passes for 44 yards.

The Lions, especially defensive tackles D.J. Reader and Alim McNeil, were stout inside.

There was little room to operate. Mixon averaged 1.8 yards per run.

The Texans’ offense was predictable again in terms of playcalling by offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik with a lot of run, run, pass sequences.

“Very, very disappointed we finished the way we did,” Mixon said. “Many opportunities existed and we didn’t take advantage of them. We’re not going to flinch. I promise you that, man. We know what kind of team we are. We know what we’re capable of.

“We just got to finish. We got to play better when it matters with all the marbles on the table. We let our fans down. We let our brothers down. We got to bounce back. and get ready for another primetime game.”

Despite the setback, Mixon emphasized he still believes in this team.

“When it comes down to this team, I’ve been in a special locker room,” Mixon said. “We’ve got it here. Trust me, we’ve got it here. This one stings. I’m gonna be real, it do. When it comes down to it, it left a lot of people speechless.”

5. Too much pressure, and some strange plays

A reconfigured offensive line of Jarrett Patterson at center and Juice Scruggs moving from center to left guard looked better in pass protection, allowing just four sacks of Stroud one week after he was sacked a career-high eight times and hit 11 times overall by the Jets.

He was still pressured too often and the Lions had five quarterback hits and nine tackles for losses as they regularly penetrated the backfield.

Right tackle Tytus Howard was attempting to keep Stroud standing in the second half, not force a fumble, but it didn’t work out and it was a strange play. Howard wound up recovering the football and yet another drive ended badly in the fourth quarter of a scoreless second half for the home team.

Earlier in the half, Lassiter suffered a concussion when he caught some inadvertent friendly fire in a collision with Ward. He had to leave the game and backup Ka’dar Hollman replaced him. Goff heated up in the second half and threw a touchdown pass to star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.