Lions vs. Texans live score updates, highlights, injury news

We’re providing live score updates, drive-by-drive analysis, and highlights for Lions vs. Texans here.

No matter what happens on Sunday night, the Detroit Lions will atop the NFC for another week. Even a loss to the Houston Texans would drop them to 7-2, where they hold the tiebreaker with the 7-2 Vikings (due to head-to-head victory) and the Eagles (conference record).

That being said, the Lions don’t want to have first place by tiebreaker or technicality. They want to outright earn it, and they’d do so if they can take down the Texans on “Sunday Night Football” in Houston.

Detroit comes in as 3.5-point road favorites, but it won’t be a cakewalk against the 6-3 Texans. C.J. Stroud is one of the most electric quarterbacks in football, and Houston’s defense is among the best in the NFL.

The Lions have gone up against some of the best defenses in football lately and vanquished them all. However, they have a pretty significant hurdle to overcome this week: left tackle Taylor Decker is out with a shoulder injury. With the Texans owning one of the best pass rushes—although they’ll be missing Will Anderson Jr.—Detroit’s front five will have their hands full.

Of course, let’s not forget that the Lions offense is also getting Jameson Williams back this week, adding yet another dimension to Detroit’s high-octane attack. Will that be enough to move them to 8-1 on the season?

Follow along live here as we provide live score updates, drive-by-drive analysis, highlights, and any injury news that may drop during the game. Refresh the page after the game kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET to get all the latest information.

First quarter

The Lions won the toss and wanted the ball first. The Lions started with Dan Skipper at left tackle, filling in for the injured Taylor Decker. They got an early third down conversion with a nifty shovel pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown. But they quickly turned it over after a Jared Goff pass was deflected up in the air and picked off by Texans’ Jimmie Ward.

The Lions quickly got the Texans into a third-and-10 thanks to strong run defense, but then C.J. Stroud hit Tank Dell for 13 yards to convert and move into the red zone. Again, the Lions run defense showed up to force a third-and-16—but, again, the Lions pass defense was too soft, and Stroud found John Metchie III for the conversion. Two plays later, Joe Mixon took a sweep for an 8-yard touchdown. 7-0 Lions.

The Lions offense couldn’t get anything going on their second drive. After a deep shot attempt to Jameson Williams and a delay of game penalty, the Lions faced a third-and-15 and Goff found Sam LaPorta well short of the sticks.

A short punt set the Texans up at their own 44-yard line, and Houston would take advantage. Back-to-back completions to Dell picked up a quick first down for Houston. Then a well-timed screen against a Lions blitz got Mixon all the way down to the 3-yard line for a 36 yard gain.

A holding penalty pushed the Texans back 10 yards, and Detroit would hold from there, forcing a 39-yard field goal after a James Houston sack on third down. 10-0 Texans.

The offense very nearly went three-and-out, but Jameson Williams bobbled a catch for 23 yards, converting a third-and-16.

Second quarter