Panthers eke by Texans late with defense

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 Christian 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.

 

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