National Football League
Carolina 16, Houston 10
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, September 29, 2019
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Temperature: Dome
Head Official: Adrian Hill
Attendance: 71699

The visiting Carolina Panthers' defense was stingy throughout the game, and two Joey Slye field goals in the fourth quarter held up in a 16-10 victory against the host Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon.

Carolina (2-2) has won two road games with Kyle Allen as the starting quarterback in place of Cam Newton after dropping its first two games at home. Allen was 24 of 34 for 232 yards in the air.

Slye made a 55-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter to put the Panthers ahead. He tacked on a 26-yarder with 28 seconds remaining.

Leading 13-10, the Panthers forced a fumble by Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson with 4:05 remaining. They kept the ball until the final Slye field goal, including a play when Allen ducked under J.J. Watt's would-be sack and collected himself to complete a pass for a first down.

Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey was credited with 93 rushing yards on 27 carries and 86 receiving yards on 10 receptions.

Watson ended up 21 of 33 for 160 yards. The Texans (2-2) had 264 yards of total offense, with only 84 in the second half.

Carolina finished with 297 yards of offense.

Midway through the third quarter, Houston took advantage of Allen's second lost fumble of the game, going 18 yards in four plays for a tying score. Watson ran in from 1 yard out.

The only scoring for the first 22 minutes was Slye's 48-yard field goal for Carolina late in the first quarter.

Houston's Ka'imi Fairbairn tied the game with a 37-yarder at 7:59 of the second.

The Texans reached the Carolina 18-yard line late in the first half, but a trick play with receiver DeAndre Hopkins attempting a pass backfired when Ross Cockrell made an interception.

The Panthers took advantage, going 54 yards in five plays to score on McCaffrey's 3-yard run with 1:08 left in the half.

Carolina has had turnovers on its first possession of each game this season.

The teams hadn't met since 2015.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Carolina   Houston
Christian McCaffrey Player Carlos Hyde
27 Attempts 12
93 Yards 58
3.4 Avg Yards 4.8
1 Touchdowns 0
13 Long 25
Receiving
Carolina   Houston
Christian McCaffrey Player DeAndre Hopkins
10 Receptions 5
86 Yards 41
8.6 Avg Yards 8.2
0 Touchdowns 0
21 Long 14
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Carolina 297 94 203 1 3 1 6.0 1
Houston 264 136 128 1 1 0 3.0 3
Upcoming Games
  • Houston will play their next game at home against Atlanta. The Texans have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Carolina will play their next game at home against Jacksonville. The Panthers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.