Broncos 17-22 Texans, summary: score, stats, highlights | NFL Week 13

Texans beat Broncos: Ward intercepts Wilson to win the game

It was a mostly defensive game as the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans held each other out of the end zone for a good portion of the game. The first touchdown came from the Texans at the end of the first quarter, but they didn't get another until the 4th quarter. The Broncos didn't get a touchdown until late in the 3rd quarter. 

And in the end, it was the Texans defense who won the game for them on a last-second interception thrown by Russell Wilson (into the hands of Jimmie Ward). The Texans defense allowed just 282 yards to the Broncos, including just 186 yards through the air from Wilson. 

How did Wilson fare...before the game-deciding interception?

The Broncos QB ended the game with 15-of-26 completions for 186yards and onetouchdown, but THREE interceptions (a season high). He did have 44rushingyards and one rushing touchdown as well.

How did Stroud fare, for that matter?

Stroud took a few sacks in the game, finishing 16 of 27 for 274 yards and one touchdown, no interceptions, but five sacks. That actually ended his streak of four games throwing for at least 300 yards.

There was a moment of momentary panic when Stroud got up slowly, looking like he could have suffered from a concussion. He left the field to be assessed in the medical tent but was back on the field after just two plays.

His favorite target was WR NicoCollins, who made several huge plays and ended up with nine receptions for 191 yards and a touchdown pass from Stroud. It was a good thing, too as the Texans' other receiver, Tank Dell, was injured with a fracturedfibula early in the game. 

What's next?

The Texans have improved to 7-6 and will face the New York Jets on the road next Sunday.

The Broncos fall to 6-6 and will face the LosAngelesChargers on the road next Sunday.

The Broncos had a chance, but Ward said NOPE

Texans beat Broncos, 22-17

Stroud takes the knee and that's game. The Texans WIN, beat the Broncos 22-17.

That will give the Texans the advantage in a head-to-head tiebreaker in the Wild Card.

Wilson avoided a sack only to throw an INTERCEPTION in the end zone to Ward for a TOUCHBACK

Wilson pass too high to Sutton, incomplete - 3rd and goal

Wilson pass incomplete to Trautman, 2nd and goal

Broncos take final timeout

Wilson runs it and picks up 5 yards to the Texans 8 and gets the 1st down!

Texans take final timeout

Broncos take second timeout

Wilson is forced to throw it away with Anderson all over him - 4th down and 2

Wilson pass caught by Jeudy, he steps out of bounds after 4 yards - 3rd and 2 at the Texans 13

Wilson fakes the handoff, Williams makes the catch for 4 yards - 2nd and 6, clock keeps ticking...

Williams just barely gets it, but he gets it! The Broncos have the 1st down as the clock keeps ticking.

Broncos take first timeout

TWO-MINUTE WARNING

That takes us to the 2-minute warning! With just two minutes left to play, the Broncos are trailing 22-17. They have the ball on the Texans 22 at 4th and 1. We should think they'll go for it here.

Wilson scrambles 7 yards to the 22 - 4th and 1

Wilson tosses it to McLaughlin but Pitre was all over him, no gain - 3rd and 8

Williams gets hit by Harris and Hansen, gains just 2 yards - 2nd and 8

Pass Interference on Texans' Harris, Broncos get automatic 1st down at the Texans 31

Wilson escapes the pocket but it's incomplete to Perine

Williams gets just a yard, taken down by Greenard - 3rd and 4

Mims picks up 5 yards, 2nd and 5

Wilson pass deep to Sutton for 32yards to the Texans 48, 1st down

Johnston punt lands in the end zone on a 40-yard kick, Touchback

Stroud escaped the sack, threw the pass and it was caught by Ogunbowale for 14 yards, but that puts them at just 4th and 9 and they'll be forced to punt yet again

Stroud SACKED by Locke for a loss of 9 - 3rd and 23

Stroud hands it off to Pierce and he's taken down immediately by Locke for a loss of 4 yards - 2nd and 14

Stroud is back on the field

Mills pass to Collins complete for 18 yards and the 1st down

Pierce picks up 3, 2nd and 7

Mills has come in at quarterback while Stroud is getting assessed in concussion protocol

Texans' Stroud was quite wobbly getting up from that last play and has now been taken to the medical tent

Stroud gets 2 yards for the 1st down

Texans take second timeout

Stroud pass complete to Metchie for 9 yards - 3rd and 1

Texans take over at their own 27, Pierce taken down by Jewell and Singleton for no gain - 2nd and 10 Texans

Wilson pass INTERCEPTED by Stingley AGAIN at the Texans 27

Broncos' Meinerz injured on the plaY

Williams takes it up 4 - 2nd and 6

Johnston punt returned by Mims 7 yards to the Broncos 32

Running into the Kicker penalty on Broncos' Turner-Yell, declined

Stroud pass incomplete to Collins - 4th and 17, Texans will punt it back

Stroud SAKCED by Singleton for a loss of 10 yards - 3rd and 17

Singletary gets 3 yards - 2nd and 7

Lutz kicks to end zone - Touchback

After the 41-yard pass to Jeudy, Wilson took the ball in himself to finish the job and give the Broncos their second TD of the game on a 1-yard run. Lutz's PAT was good and the Broncos trail by just 5 with 12:04 still left in the game

Wilson passes DEEP to Jeudy for a 41-yard pass all the way to the 1!

Williams gets the 1st down on a 3-yard run

Texans' Ward was injured on the play

McLaughlin takes it up 8 yards, 2nd and 2

Unnecessary Roughness on Texans' Ward, 15-yard penalty

Wilson faked the handoff but got hit hard by Ward after 7 yards

Ammendola kicks to the 35 - Touchback

The Texans extend their lead on a 3-yard pass from Stroud to Collins in the end zone. They decided to go for the 2-point conversion, but the attempt failed - picked off by the Broncos. Texans lead to start the final quarter with 14:16 left to play in the game.

The Texans went for two and it was INTERCEPTED 

Pierce taken down by Cooper after 5 yards, to the Broncos 3 - 2nd and goal

END THIRD QUARTER

That takes us to the end of the 3rd quarter. There was a fumble by the Texans, a recovery by the Texans, and then a Russell Wilson pass intercepted by the Texans. Now, Houston is at 1st and goal at the Broncos 8 to start the final quarter. They lead 16-10 over Denver. 

On 2nd down, Stroud passed deep to Jordan for 13 yards to the Broncos 8, 1st and goal

Wilson pass INTERCEPTED by Stingley, takes it 3 yards to the Broncos 21

Texans lucky to be able to punt it away at 4th and 11 as there were about 5 guys on that fumble

Stroud SACKED again and it was knocked away by McMillan and FUMBLED. Ruling on the field is that it was recovered by Texans' Ogunbowale

Texans take first timeout

Stroud SACKED by Allen for a loss of 3 yards, 3rd and 13

Stroud pass deep to Brown is incomplete, 2nd and 10

Stroud picks up the 1st down on a 2-yard run

Stroud to Collins for another 4, 3rd and 1

Stroud pass to Saubert for 5 yards

King returns the punt from the 35 to the 21, 23 yards

The Broncos get their first touchdown of the game! Wilson passed to Sutton deep for 45 yards and the TD and Lutz's PAT was good. Broncos trail by 6 with 4:47 left in the 3rd quarter.

Pass Interference on Texans' Pitre, declined

Burton gets another 4 and the 1st down at the Texans 45

Williams gets 4 yards, 2nd and 1

Neutral Zone Infraction on Texans' Hinish, 5-yard penalty, 1st and 5 Broncos

Johnston punts 43 yards, out of bounds at the 42

Stroud pass to Brown was soooo close, but his feet were out of bounds and ruled incomplete by both officials. On the replay, you can clearly see he's out. The Texans will punt on 4th down.

Singletary gets nowhere - 3rd and 10

Stroud pass incomplete to Jordan, he had it but it slipped through his hands

Well, it looked like there was a Broncos fumble when Wilson passed to Perine, and Texans' King took it back into the end zone.

But the play was ruled dead before the ball came loose and it called an incomplete pass. Instead, the Broncos punted it away at 4th and 3 on their own 31.

Wilson bullet passes the ball away to Williams and he gets 5 yards, 3rd and 3

McLaughlin stopped by Pitre after just 2 yards - 2nd and 8

Ammendola kicks to the 7, Mims takes it up 17 yards to the 24

The Broncos defense is making moves, forcing the Texans to kick another field goal, but they are adding up. Ammendola's 38-yard try is good and the Texans take a 13-point lead with 8:51 to play in the 3rd quarter.

TEXANS FIELD GOAL!

Stroud pass complete to Collins but he gets just 5 yards, 4th down and 8 and they'll go for the field goal

Stroud SACKED by Harris for a loss of 1, he's on a roll - 3rd down and 12

Pierce takes it 3 yards, stopped by Harris

Stroud pass to Metchie for 4 yards but an IllegalFormation call takes them back 5 yards, 1st and 15 at the 27

Stroud passes deep to Collins for 39 yards, 1st down at the 22

Pierce takes it again taken back a yard this time by Jones, 3rd and 11

Pierce gets nowhere, stopped by Allen - 2nd and 10

Broncos punt it again, Dixon kicks it to the 33 and King takes it up 7 yards to the 40

Wilson SACKED again, this time by Greenard for a loss of 7 - 4th and 16

Wilson pass to McLaughlin for a 5-yard gain, 3rd down and 9

Wilson SACKED by Anderson for a loss of 4 yards on the first play of the second half. Ouch! 2nd and 14

And we're back!

Ammendola kicks to the 35 - Touchback

A huge loss for Texans as Tank Dell was carted off in the first quarter

The lone TD of the game

A 6-yard run by Texans RB Dameon Pierce

Rookie Anderson on fire today

END FIRST HALF

And that will take us to halftime! 

The Texans lead by 10, but it's been a mostly defensive game with just one touchdown for the Texans - a Pierce run in the 1st half. 

The Broncos will start on offense in the second half when we come back±

Johnston punts it to the 11, Mims calls for the Fair Catch

Stroud under pressure, avoids the sack but forced to throw the ball away - 4th and 5

Texans hurry up this time, Stroud passes deep but it's nowhere near Metchie - overthrown and incomplete, 3rd and 5

Stroud pass to Collins complete for 5 yards, 2nd and 5

Singletary takes the ball up 14 yards to the 39, 1st down

The Broncos finally get some points on the board. The Houston defense kept them out of the end zone, but Lutz gets the 34-yard field goal to make it a 10-point game heading into the second half with 1:24 left to play.

BRONCOS FIELD GOAL!

Wilson avoids a sack, but barely. He runs backwards and finally throws the ball away before being tackled by Greenard after dodging Anderson, but it took them to 4th down  

Texans take second timeout

Williams tripped up, taken back 2 yards by Pitre, 3rd and 6

Texans take first timeout

Wilson pass caught by Jeudy, he dukes it and gets 6 yards, 2nd and 4 at the Texans 14

Broncos take first timeout 

Broncos' Manhertz was injured on the play

McLaughlin gets the 1st down on a 6-yard run

TWO-MINUTE WARNING

That'll take us to the 2-minute warning in the first half. 

The Broncos have the ball at the Texans 26 on 2nd and 4 after a 6-yard pass to Trautman.

Wilson pass caught by Trautman for 6 yards, 2nd and 4

Wilson picks up the 1st down! On a 3-yard run

Wilson pass to Perine and he gets just 5 yards but the Broncos go for it on 4th down anddd...

Wilson pass deep to Sutton is incomplete, 3rd down and 6

Wilson hands it off to Williams for a 4-yard gain, 2nd and 6

Wilson fakes the handoff, takes it up 11 yards for the 1st down to the Texans 44

Wilson pass caught by Williams and taken up 15 yards for the 1st down

Williams gets just 2 yards, taken down by King - 2nd and 8

Okay, so now we've got the FINAL punt, a 52-yard kick by Johnston to the Broncos 28, downed by Saubert

Johnston punts again, 58 yards to the 7 and Mims gets taken back by Ross for a loss of 1

Texans' Beck is called for a Face Mask, 15 yards....we'll do a THIRD punt here now.

Johnston punts 46 yards, returned 6 yards by Mims to the Broncos 20.

Illegal Formation on Texans, 5-yard penalty 

Stroud pass incomplete to Mitchie, 4th and 2

Pierce gets just a yard this time, 3rd and 2

Pierce breaks through the gap on a 22-yard run all the way to the 39, 2nd and 3

Tripping penalty on Texans' Deiter, puts them back 15 yards - 1st and 25

Stroud FUMBLES and it's recovered by Texans' Fant

Stroud pass caught by Jordan for a big gain of 24 yards for the 1st down and then some

Pierce taken backwards by Harris for a loss of 1, 2nd and 11 at the 9

Dixon punts 41 yards, Fair Catch called by King at the Texans 9

Perine gets just 1 yard and the Broncos are at 4th down again

Williams takes the ball up 5 yards - 3rd and 5

Wilson passes deep to Mims but it's broken up by Stingley, looked like pass interference but there's no flag - 2nd and 10

Williams takes off 16 yards to the 44

Wilson scrambles under pressure, taken down by Anderson, 2nd and 7

Ammendola kicks 67 yards to Broncos -2 and Mims takes it 27 yards to the Broncos 25.

The Texans set up a huge play on a 59-yard Stroud pass to Collins, but couldn't find the end zone this time after a penalty set them back. They settled for an Ammendola 38-yard field goal and take a 13-point lead with 12:54 to play in the first half.

TEXANS FIELD GOAL!

Stroud scrambles for 2 yards and they'll go for the field goal at 4th and 2 at the Broncos 20

Singletary gets away, takes the ball 10 yards to the 22, 3rd and 6

Stroud pass caught by Singletary for just 4 yards, 2nd and 16

Stroud pass to Metchie was caught for no gain, taken down by Singleton

Illegal Block Above the Waist on Texans' Scruggs, 10-yard penalty puts Houston at 1st and 20

END FIRST QUARTER

That'll take us to the end of the first quarter.

The Texans now have the ball at the Broncos 26 after a deep pass was caught for 59 yards through the air by Collins. Houston leads 10-0.

Stroud passes deep to Collins and IT IS CAUGHT for another huge play of 59 yards to the Broncos 26!

Stroud under pressure, moves backwards and throws it away, 3rd and 6

Singletary takes it up 4 yards, 2nd and 6

Dixon punts to the 11, Fair Catch by Woods

Wilson tries to scramble away, gets just a yard before Hughes takes him down, 4th and 2

McLaughlin pushed back by King for a loss of a yard, 3rd and 3 

Mims takes it up 8yards, 2nd and 2

Wilson pass caught by Humphrey and he gets 12 yards, 1st down at their own 37 (their first 1st down of the game)

Ammendola punts to the 35 - Touchback

Ammendola's PAT was good to put Texans up by 10

Dell is being carted off the field, but was able to move his hands and feet

Texans' Dell was injured on the play

Pierce took the ball in to finally finish the job on a 3-yard touchdown for the Texans. They take a bigger lead with 3:49 to play in the 1st quarter.

Stroud pass too high to Collins in the end zone, incomplete - 2nd and goal

Stroud and Singleton were getting into a little tussle there after Singleton shoved Stroud after the play was dead. 

Refs are separating the teams and flags are flying!

False Start on Texans' Tunsil, ruled dead.

Personal Foul on Broncos' Singleton, gives Texans the 1st and goal

Stroud under pressure, throws to Collins in the end zone but he just couldn't hold onto the ball, 4th and 2 and Houston will go for it

Pierce picks up another 2, 3rd and 2 at the Broncos 7

Pierce runs into his own teammate (Collins) but gets 6 yards, 2nd down and 4

Texans go for it with the tush push on 4th and inches and they get the 1st down as Stroud takes it up 2 yards

The Broncos defense stops them again, Ogunbowale is juuuust short, 4th down and inches

Stroud pass complete to Collins for 6 yards, 3rd and 2 at the Broncos 18

Pierce picks up 2 yards - 2nd and 8

Broncos' Surtain was injured on the play

On the first play, Stroud throws deep to Collins and it is CAUGHT for 52 yards at the Broncos 26!

Dixon's punts to the 22, Fair Catch by King

Wilson SACKED by Anderson for a loss of 11 yards, 4th and 14 and Broncos punt it back

No huddle, Broncos are moving quick. Williams gets 2 more yards before he's stopped by Anderson and Perryman, 3rd and 3

Williams picks up 5 yards, stopped by Collins and Ward

Amendola kicks to the 35 - Touchback

At 2nd and less than a yard, the Texans were held to 4th down and forced to settle for a field goal. The Amendola 29-yard attempt was good and the Texans are on the board with the lead to start the first half, with 10:11 to go in the 1st quarter.

TEXANS FIELD GOAL!

Stroud pass INCOMPLETE to Beck, Texans at 4th down and 1

Singletary stopped by Allen for no gain, 3rd and 1

Offsides on Broncos' Browning, 5-yard penalty puts Texans at 2nd and 1

Singletary picks up a yard, but a flag is thrown...

Stroud pass to Beck for 5 yards, 2nd and 5

With great field position already, Stroud passes to Jordan and he takes off for 27yards to the Broncos 20.

The punt was tipped! Dixon's punt goes 22 yards and bounces out of bounds at the Broncos 47.

Wilson scrambled on 3rd down just as Stroud did, but just as Stroud was, Wilson was short.

Broncos ALSO go 3 and out and the Texans will receive on 4th down.

Wilson tries two deep passes in a row to Sutton and both were incomplete! 3rd and 10 Broncos

Fair catch at the 18-yard line

Stroud under pressure, scrambles away but he's short of the first down. 

Texans went 3 and out and will punt it back to the Broncos on 4th and 1 at their own 34.

Singletary takes off with it again and gets another 4, 3rd and 5

Singletary starts off with just a 1-yard gain, stopped by Parcell, 2nd and 9 Texans

GAME TIME!

Denver won the toss and have elected to defer. Let's hope for the Broncos' sake the Texans don't score first. They typically win when they do that!

Stroud and the Texans offense have taken the field. LET'S GO!

We're just a few moments away from kickoff at NRG Stadium, so stay tuned!

Tank Dell: Another breakout rookie

The Texans have another rookie making a name for himself besides their QB and that's wide receiver Tank Dell. Although he was listed as questionable earlier in the week, he is good to go for today's game against the Broncos. 

Dell's breakout rookie season

Dell is ranked second in the league in receiving yards with 709 and his seven touchdowns are tied for first among the rookies from this year's NFL Draft. Among rookies, he has the most yards per reception (15.1) and the most yards per game (70.9). 

He and Stroud together have the most rookie quarterback-and-receiver duo yards (709) through 11 games since 1991. 

Denver's 5-game winning streak

How exactly did the Broncos bounce back from their 1-5 start to go on a five-game win streak? Well, a lot of it has to do with their defense. The Broncos have had 13 more takeaways than their opponents over the last five games. 

However, the Texans have the second-fewest interceptions (after the Denver Broncos) and have the fifth-fewest giveaways in the league. Only six quarterbacks have a rating above 100 this season and Houston's C.J. Stroud is one of them (as well as Broncos' Russell Wilson). 

C.J.’s been impressive. He’s having one of the best rookie years ever. And he’s got a great gene in him, and it’s called the ‘clutch gene.’ He’s got some ‘it’ in him. You saw that in college, too.”

INACTIVES for Texans vs Broncos

Denver Broncos INACTIVES

TE Nate Adkins

QB Ben DiNucci

C Alex Forsyth

DL Elijah Garcia

Edge rusher Thomas Incoom

Edge rusher Ronnie Perkins

Safety JL Skinner

Houston Texans INACTIVES

RB Mike Boone

G Nick Broeker

WR Xavier Hutchinson

QB Case Keenum

DE Myjai Sanders

TE Dalton Schultz

Stroud lauds Denver defense

In their five-game winning streak, the Broncos have forced turnovers in the last four, with 15 combined over those games.

Stroud's historic rookie year

If the Broncos want to pull off an upset and secure the head-to-head tiebreaker, they'll need to get past Texans QB C.J. Stroud first. And that's not an easy task. The rookie and No. 2 overall draft pick has had an incredible season so far.

Stroud making history in Houston

Let's take a look at Stroud's unique rookie stats. He is now averaging the most passing yards (296.9) by any rookie quarterback in history. Over just the last four games, he's thrown for 1,466 yards, the most by a rookie since the 1970 merger. 

He's also tied (with Justin Herbert and Andrew Luck) for the most games with 300 passing yards and two touchdowns by a rookie. He ranks in the top six in three categories: passing yards per game, touchdown-to-interception ratio (19to-5), and passer rating (100.8). 

He's the main reason the Texans are even in talks of going to the playoffs this season. They haven't had a winning season since 2019.

High stakes as Broncos take on CJ Stroud's Texans

The Broncos and Texans are both sitting at 6-5 on the season and are the first two teams out of the AFC playoff picture. That means whichever team wins today will secure the head-to-head advantage in any potential tiebreakers in the future. 

The Broncos got off to a rocky start, going 1-5 before improving to a five-game winning streak that they'll look to continue against the Texans. This will be their first of three tough games on the road. 

With rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud at the helm for the Texans, they've been performing at a much higher level than expected and it won't be an easy win for Denver. However, the Broncos are currently 4-0 against teams with a winning record.

Hello everyone and welcome to our live coverage of the Denver Broncos at Houston Texans Week 13 game! 

Today, the Broncos travel to NRG Stadium in a game with huge playoff implications. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET and we'll be here to bring you all the latest scores, stats, highlights, and commentary.