Stroud, Texans look to extend winning streak to three games when they host Arizona

ARIZONA (2-8) at HOUSTON (5-4)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS.

OPENING LINE: Texas by 4 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Arizona 5-5; Houston 5-4.

SERIES RECORD: Cardinals lead 3-2.

LAST MEETING: Cardinals beat Texans 31-5 on Oct. 24, 2021, in Arizona.

LAST WEEK: Cardinals beat Falcons 25-23; Texans beat Bengals 30-27.

CARDINALS OFFENSE: OVERALL (25), RUSH (9), PASS (31), SCORING (25).

CARDINALS DEFENSE: OVERALL (22), RUSH (28), PASS (11), SCORING (28).

TEXANS OFFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (25), PASS (2), SCORING (10).

TEXANS DEFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (8), PASS (24), SCORING (17).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Cardinals minus-3; Texans plus-4.

CARDINALS PLAYER TO WATCH: TE Trey McBride had the best game of his career in last week’s win, catching eight passes for 131 yards. The second-year player was the first Cardinals tight end to have more than 100 yards receiving since 1989. The 6-foot-4, 246-pounder is quickly emerging as one of the team’s best playmakers and is third on the team with 418 yards receiving.

TEXANS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Noah Brown set career highs with seven catches for 172 yards last week for the most yards receiving by a Texan since 2019. He joins Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins as the only players in franchise history with back-to-back 150-yard receiving games after having 153 yards two weeks ago.

KEY MATCHUP: Houston QB C.J. Stroud vs. Arizona’s pass defense. The second overall pick ranks second in the NFL with 2,626 yards passing and has 15 touchdowns with just two interceptions. Stroud is the second rookie in NFL history with consecutive games with at least 350 yards passing and a 350-yard game Sunday would make him the first rookie to have three in a row. He’ll face a pass defense which ranks 11th in the NFL in allowing just 208.4 yards passing a game after limiting the Falcons to a season-low 70 yards passing last week.

KEY INJURIES: Cardinals OT D.J. Humphries has been limited in practice with an ankle injury. He missed the Falcons game with the same injury. … DL Jonathan Ledbetter (shoulder) and WR Zach Pascal (hamstring) were hurt against the Falcons and didn’t practice Wednesday. … Houston WR Nico Collins is set to return after sitting out last week with a calf injury. … RB Dameon Pierce is likely to miss a third straight game with an ankle injury. … It’s unclear if LB Henry To’oTo’o will play this week after sitting out against the Bengals recovering from a concussion.

SERIES NOTES: The Cardinals have won three of the past four meetings. … The Texans won the first matchup 30-19 in 2005. … The Cardinals are looking for their first road win in the series.

STATS AND STUFF: The Cardinals and Texans were among six teams that made a game-winning FG with no time remaining in regulation in Week 10. That’s the most in regulation in a single week in NFL history. ... Cardinals rookie LB BJ Ojulari had two sacks against the Falcons last week. ... K Matt Prater made FGs from 56 and 51 yards last Sunday and is the franchise leader with 17 FGs of 50 yards or more. His 76 FGs of 50 yards or more are the most in NFL history. ... Cardinals OT Paris Johnson Jr. played at Ohio State with Stroud, providing protection for the QB, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2021 and 2022. ... Arizona ranks ninth in the league with 126.5 yards rushing per game. ... Greg Dortch had a 49-yard punt return for the Cardinals last Sunday, which was the longest for the franchise since Ted Ginn’s 71-yard return in 2014… Houston is looking to win three straight games for the first time since 2018. ... Last week the Texans became the first team since Indianapolis in 1998 with a 350-yard passer, a 150-yard rusher (Devin Singletary) and a 150-yard receiver in the same game. … Singletary’s 150 yards rushing were a career high, and it was the first time the Texans have had a 150-yard rusher since 2019. … Collins has 448 yards receiving and four touchdowns in four home games this season. … WR Tank Dell has had at least 55 yards receiving and a TD in consecutive games. He ranks second among rookies with five TD receptions and is fifth with 510 yards receiving. … TE Dalton Schultz has had a touchdown reception in his past three home games. … DT Sheldon Rankins had a career-high three sacks and his fifth career forced fumble last week. … LB Jonathan Greenard had his seventh sack of the season against Cincinnati. … CB Tavierre Thomas led the team with eight tackles last week. … S DeAndre Houston-Carson had his first interception of the season against the Bengals.

FANTASY TIP: Collins could be a good pickup after having two games with more than 145 yards receiving at home this season.

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