Jimmie Ward picked off Russell Wilson in the end zone with nine seconds remaining and the host Houston Texans escaped with a 22-17 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday at NRG Stadium.
Ward recorded the third interception of Wilson, who eluded pressure from Texans linebacker Blake Cashman before heaving a third-down pass intended for tight end Lucas Krull. The Broncos covered 72 yards over 13 plays and converted twice on fourth down before being turned back on the 14th play of the drive.
Denver (6-6) had its five-game winning streak snapped while Houston (7-5) won for the fourth time in five games.
Derek Stingley Jr. recorded a pair of interceptions — upping his total to four over the last three games — the first of which returned possession to the Texans at the Denver 21 with a minute left in the third quarter. Four plays later, C.J. Stroud tossed a 3-yard scoring pass to Nico Collins for a 22-10 lead with 14:16 left in the game.
Collins posted nine receptions for a career-high 191 yards. Stroud passed for 274 yards.
Wilson had a 45-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton that pulled Denver to within 16-10 in the third quarter and a 41-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy that set up a 1-yard Wilson scoring run with 12:04 left to make it 22-17 in favor of the Texans.
But the Texans held defensively, led by rookie end Will Anderson Jr., who had five tackles, four hits on Wilson, two sacks and a tipped pass that resulted in the first Stingley interception.
The Texans dominated the first half but their inability to convert on third down prevented them from establishing a comfortable lead. Despite producing 259 yards while surrendering only 103, the Texans led 13-3 at the intermission after producing a 1-for-8 third-down conversion rate.
Houston kicker Matt Amendola converted field goals of 29, 38 and 38 yards in the first three quarters. The Texans secured a 10-0 lead with 3:49 left in the first quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run from Dameon Pierce that capped a 10-play, 78-yard march, but lost standout rookie receiver Tank Dell when he was caught in the pile while attempting to block.
Dell reportedly suffered a season-ending broken leg.
The Broncos’ first snap in Houston territory came with just under five minutes remaining in the half, and that 13-play, 56-yard drive fizzled in the red zone and culminated with a 34-yard Wil Lutz field goal with 1:24 left in the second. Denver finished 0-for-6 on third downs in the first half.
–Field Level Media
