The Cardinals, who trail the Texans 17-0 in the first quarter, have had injury added to insult.
Running back Bam Knight was carted to the X-ray room with a left ankle injury. The Cardinals list him as questionable to return, but Knight could not put any weight on his left leg and appeared in significant pain as he left.
His only carry came on the Cardinals’ first play from scrimmage when Derek Stingley tackled him for a 2-yard loss.
Knight has 82 carries for 269 yards and four touchdowns this season.
Houston has 93 yards to minus-7 for Arizona and leads big on a 57-yard touchdown reception by Nico Collins, a 30-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn and a 1-yard touchdown run by Woody Marks in the wildcat after the snap bounced off the ground.
Well, that didn’t take long.
Only 49 seconds into the game, the Texans have a 7-0 lead on the Cardinals.
Jaylin Noel returned the opening kickoff 39 yards to the Houston 41. Woody Marks ran for 2 yards on first down before C.J. Stroud found Nico Collins downfield.
Collins ran 57 yards to the end zone for a quick-strike score.
The Texans kicked off, and Jalen Brooks fumbled. Jamal Hill forced the fumble, and Dare Ogunbowale recovered at the Arizona 27. Houston reached the Arizona 11 before stalling and settling for a 30-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal.
The Texans lead 10-0 only three minutes into the game, and without the Cardinals offense seeing the field.
The Bills will be missing a key defensive piece as they try to keep the Patriots from clinching the AFC East in New England on Sunday.
Cornerback Christian Benford is inactive for the game. Benford was added to the injury report on Thursday with a toe issue and he missed practice on Friday before being listed as questionable.
Benford had a big hand in each of the Bills’ last two wins. He returned a fumble for a touchdown and had an interception to help them beat the Steelers in Week 13 and he returned an interception for the go-ahead score against the Bengals in the fourth quarter last Sunday.
Bills at Patriots
Bills: CB Christian Benford, LB Terrel Bernard, WR Gabe Davis, S Darnell Savage, OL Tylan Grable, DT Phidarian Mathis, OL Chase Lundt
Patriots: LB Bradyn Swinson, OL Marcus Bryant, DT Eric Gregory, TE C.J. Dippre, WR Efton Chism, QB Tommy DeVito
Ravens at Bengals
Ravens: WR Rashod Bateman, CB Keyon Martin, OL Joseph Noteboom, DT Aeneas Peebles, QB Cooper Rush
Bengals: WR Tee Higgins, QB Jake Browning, S PJ Jules, DT Jordan Jefferson
Jets at Jaguars
Jets: QB Tyrod Taylor, QB Justin Fields, WR Tyler Johnson, EDGE Braiden McGregor, DL Mazi Smith, TE Mason Taylor, LB Kiki Mauigoa
Jaguars: LB Yasir Abdullah, OL Walker Little, TE Hunter Long, DL Emmanuel Ogbah, DL Austin Johnson
Chargers at Chiefs
Chargers: WR Quentin Johnston, S Elijah Molden, WR Derius Davis, CB Nikko Reed, LB Kyle Kennard, OL Trey Pipkins, WR Dalevon Campbell
Chiefs: CB Trent McDuffie, WR Hollywood Brown, OT Jawaan Taylor, TE Jared Wiley, G Trey Smith, RB Elijah Mitchell, DT Zacch Pickens
Cardinals at Texans
Cardinals: CB Max Melton, WR Marvin Harrison Jr., S Jalen Thompson, S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, OL Evan Brown, OT Paris Johnson, WR Xavier Weaver
Texans: OL Jarrett Kingston, WR Braxton Berrios, RB Nick Chubb, QB Graham Mertz, CB Ameer Speed, LB E.J. Speed, DE Solomon Byrd
Browns at Bears
Browns: CB Denzel Ward, RB Dylan Sampson, G Zak Zinter, G Wyatt Teller, T Jack Conklin, TE David Njoku, DT Adin Huntington
Bears: QB Tyson Bagent, RB Travis Homer, WR Jahdae Walker, LB Ruben Hyppolite, DE Dominique Robinson, DT Jonathan Ford
Commanders at Giants
Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels, DE Drake Jackson, OL George Fant, CB Jonathan Jones, OL Trenton Scott, RB Chris Rodriguez
Giants: EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux, WR Ryan Miller, P Jamie Gillan, OL James Hudson, WR Gunner Olszewski, DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches, QB Russell Wilson
Raiders at Eagles
Raiders: QB Geno Smith, CB Greedy Vance, RB Zamir White, OL Jordan Meredith, TE Ian Thomas, WR Alex Bachman, DL Leki Fotu
Eagles: LB Josh Uche, QB Sam Howell, CB Mac McWilliams, RB A.J. Dillon, OT Lane Johnson, DT Jalen Carter
The Texans will be without running back Nick Chubb today against the Cardinals.
Chubb, who is listed as questionable with a rib injury, is not expected to play, according to multiple reports.
It will be the first missed game this season for Chubb, who returned to health this season after a 2023 knee injury caused him to miss 15 games that year and much of the 2024 season as well.
The Texans will rely heavily on running back Woody Marks today. Marks had already moved ahead of Chubb on the running back depth chart, and without Chubb available Marks should get a major workload today.
Houston is a 10.5-point favorite at home against Arizona today.
The Texans activated tight end Harrison Bryant from injured reserve, the team announced Saturday.
Bryant was designated to return from injured reserve this week after working his way back from neck and shoulder injuries.
The Texans waived running back Cody Schrader in a corresponding move. The team claimed Schrader off waivers this week, and he practiced the past three days.
Bryant has two catches for 7 yards in eight games this season.
The Texans also announced they elevated running back Jawhar Jordan and safety K’Von Wallace from the practice squad to the game-day roster.
Jordan will help with depth at the position if Nick Chubb can’t play. He is questionable with a rib injury. Wallace is needed with Jaylen Reed and M.J. Stewart on injured reserve.
