C.J. Stroud leads Texans to 6th straight win, 40-20 over Cardinals

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Texans have shaken off their awful start to the season with a six-game winning streak that has them in the thick of the AFC playoff race with three regular-season games left.

C.J. Stroud threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns and the Texans (9-5) jumped out to a big early lead and cruised to a 40-20 victory over the slumping Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

The winning streak is their longest since a nine-game run in 2018. They've rebounded from an 0-3 start and are one game behind the Jaguars (10-4) in the AFC South and currently in line for a wild-card playoff spot.

“We started off a little rough of course but you want to be playing your best ball in December going into January,” Stroud said. “Since we’re doing that it’s really good... every week we just keep progressing and I think that’s all we can do right now.”

Coach DeMeco Ryans, who constantly preaches a one-game-at-a-time mentality, insisted he didn't even realize the length of his team's winning streak until told by a reporter postgame.

“If you go out and handle business each week you’re just putting yourself in a better spot,” he said. “Not really focused on what everyone else in the AFC is doing. Focus on the Texans. Focus on stepping your game up and playing better.”

It’s the sixth straight loss for the Cardinals (3-11), whose last win came Nov. 3 against the Cowboys.

“We got beat by a good football team," coach Jonathan Gannon said. “We didn’t play well enough, and we’re going to go back to work.”

Houston got going immediately with its fastest score of the season when Stroud connected with Nico Collins on a 57-yard touchdown strike on the second play of the game. Collins took the short throw, escaped two diving defenders at around the 40 and ran untouched into the end zone for the score.

The Cardinals fumbled on the ensuing kickoff return and the Texans recovered. They couldn’t move the ball and settled for a 30-yard field goal that made it 10-0.

“You don’t get your first offensive snap until you’re down 10-0, it’s hard to start the game like that," Arizona tight end Trey McBride said. "But I’m proud of the way we fought. I thought we didn’t give up ... but we've just got to start the game faster. We can’t spot them 10 points like that.”

Woody Marks made it 17-0 when he scored on a 1-yard run after Stroud fumbled a snap later in the first quarter.

Arizona’s Michael Wilson had an 11-yard touchdown reception with about 11 minutes left but the 2-point conversion throw failed to leave Houston up 33-20.

The Texans padded the lead when Stroud found Collins again, this time on a 4-yard grab that made it 40-20. Collins had three receptions for 85 yards to give him 1,001 yards receiving for his third straight 1,000-yard season.

“That’s a big playmaker,” Ryans said. “He’s unstoppable.”

Jacoby Brissett threw for 249 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in his ninth start for the injured Kyler Murray.

McBride had 12 receptions for a career-high 134 yards with two touchdowns for the Cardinals. He has an NFL-leading 105 receptions to become the first tight end in NFL history with at least 100 receptions in consecutive seasons. He has 1,037 yards receiving this season for his second straight 1,000-yard season.

Kamari Lassiter intercepted Brissett's pass in the end zone on the opening drive of the second half. Lassiter downed the ball for a touchback before celebrating his career-high fourth interception of the season with a backflip.

The Texans cashed in on the error when Dalton Schultz grabbed a 4-yard TD pass that made it 30-7 with about 4 ½ minutes left in the third.

McBride’s second touchdown catch cut the lead to 30-14 near the end of the third quarter.

Kaʻimi Fairbairn’s 33-yard field goal pushed the lead to 33-14 early in the fourth.

The Cardinals had minus-7 yards of offense and were down by 17 when they got going late in the first quarter. They used a 13-play, 71-yard drive capped by a 2-yard reception by McBride to cut the lead to 17-7 early in the second.

A 55-yard field goal by Fairbairn extended the lead to 20-17 with about nine minutes left in the second. He added a 22-yard field goal with less than two minutes to go in the first half and had a 52-yard attempt blocked just before the break.

After Marks left with an ankle injury, Jawhar Jordan, who was elevated from the practice squad Saturday, took over and had 15 carries for 101 yards in his NFL debut.

Cardinals: WR Andre Baccellia was taken off the field on a stretcher with a neck injury after being hurt on a kickoff return in the second quarter. The Cardinals announced Baccellia was being taken to a hospital for further evaluation and will not return to the game. They added that Baccellia was alert and had full movement of all of his extremities…. RB Bam Knight left in the first quarter with an ankle injury. … LB Cody Simon injured his knee in the first quarter.

Texans: Marks injured his ankle in the first half and didn’t return. … DT Mario Edwards sustained a chest injury in the fourth quarter.

Cardinals: Host Atlanta next Sunday.

Texans: Host Las Vegas next Sunday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride, right, is tackled by Houston Texans safety Calen Bullock (2) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Houston Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins, left, celebrates a Texans touchdown with Texans running back Woody Marks as Arizona Cardinals linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither (27) pauses in the endzone during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Houston Texans linebacker Henry To'Oto'O, right, tackles Arizona Cardinals tight end Pharaoh Brown during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Houston Texans wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson (19) runs past Arizona Cardinals cornerback Will Johnson during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud throws against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed Friday to work together to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease global economic uncertainties caused by the war in the Middle East.

Their summit in Seoul came as U.S. President Donald Trump slammed allies for not supporting the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. Macron was making his first visit to South Korea since taking office in 2017, as part of an Asian tour that already has taken him to Japan.

Macron told Lee at the start of the meeting that the two countries can play a role in helping to stabilize the situation in the Middle East, including Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has unleashed shock on global energy markets.

At a joint televised briefing afterward, Macron underscored the need for France and South Korea to cooperate to help reopen the strait and deescalate Middle East animosities, while Lee said the two affirmed “their resolves to cooperate to secure the safe shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The two leaders did not take questions and did not elaborate on how they would help reopen the strait — the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.

“We need to clearly define, at the international level, the conditions for a process to ease the crisis and conflict in the Middle East,” Macron said. “We need to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.”

Lee said he and Macron agreed to expand cooperation in technology, energy and other areas. South Korean and French officials also signed agreements to cooperate on nuclear fuel supply chains, jointly invest in an offshore wind project in southern South Korea and to collaborate on critical minerals. South Korea has moved to increase output at its nuclear reactors to mitigate the energy crunch and Lee has also called for a faster transition to renewable energy, saying the war has exposed the country’s heavy reliance on fossil fuel imports.

Macron’s Asia trip comes as Trump has ramped up his frustration with allies. In a speech Wednesday, Trump said Americans “don’t need” the strait but the countries who do “must grab it and cherish it.”

In an earlier Easter event at the White House, Trump called for his allies in Asia and China to get involved in reopening the waterway.

“Let South Korea, you know, we only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force — let South Korea do it,” Trump said. “Let Japan do it. They get 90% of their oil from the strait. Let China do it.”

The United States stations about 28,000 troops in South Korea, not the 45,000 stated by Trump. The U.S. troops’ deployment in South Korea is meant to deter potential aggressions from North Korea.

Macron has said reopening the Strait of Hormuz through a military operation is unrealistic.

South Korean officials have said they are in contact with Washington on the issue and that Seoul isn’t considering paying Iran transit fees to secure fuel shipments through the strait.

French President Emmanuel Macron, front left, his wife Brigitte Macron, back center, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, front right, and his wife Kim Hea Kyung, right, attend the welcome ceremony at the presidential Blue House in Seoul Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je /Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, his wife Brigitte Macron, left, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, and his wife Kim Hea Kyung, second left, attend the welcome ceremony at the presidential Blue House in Seoul Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je /Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, second right, during their meeting at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during their meeting at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)