Houston TexansvsCarolina Panthers
HOU 13/CAR 16
Things to say
Carolina beat Houston 16-13 at Bank of America Stadium.
01
opener
Field goal fest, honestly. Carolina grinds it out 16-13. Neither offense could really move the ball, it just came down to who kicked more.
02
key player
Ryan Fitzgerald was the whole offense — three field goals and the extra point. When your kicker outscores everybody, you know it was that kind of night.
03
hot take
Kyle Trask threw for 147 and tossed a pick. That's not winning football, the Panthers defense bailed him out.
04
deep cut
Houston's rookie Aiden Fisher had 12 tackles. Guy was all over the field, and the Texans are 0-3 with nothing to show for it.
05
exit
Rypien hit Zay Jones late to make it interesting, but too little too late. We'll see if it carries into next week.
The recap
This one was a kicking contest before it was anything else — Ryan Fitzgerald booted three field goals and Carolina leaned on its defense to grind Houston into the turf all night. The Panthers finally found the end zone on a Miles Davis one-yard plunge to stretch it to 16-6, and that cushion was the whole ballgame.
Brett Rypien hit Zay Jones for a six-yard score late to make it 16-13 and get Houston within a field goal, but the Texans couldn't move the ball when it counted and stayed winless at 0-3. Nobody carried this thing on offense; the Carolina D did the heavy lifting and bailed out a quiet 147-yard night from Kyle Trask.