Another heroic final drive put the Texans in position to pick up their second straight win. And for the second consecutive week, Head Coach DeMeco Ryans' team was relying on a new kicker to make a big difference. 

Matt Ammendola, signed this week after Ka'imi Fairbairn went on Injured Reserve, stepped up and drilled the game-winning field goal to put the Texans over .500 for the season and knock off Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Texans won the coin toss and deferred. They kicked off to begin the game.

A roughing-the-passer call against defensive end Will Anderson, Jr. on the first play from scrimmage moved the ball to the Cincinnati 40-yard line. A short run followed, and then came an incompletion. On 3^rd-and-8 at their own 42-yard line, quarterback Joe Burrow linked up with tight end Tanner Hudson for a pickup of 13 yards and a first down.

Two more passes to Hudson gained eight yards and one yard, and the Bengals were in a 3^rd-and-1 situation at the Texans' 36-yard line. Linebacker Denzel Perryman and safety Jalen Pitre stonewalled a Joe Mixon run to the right side for a loss of two. The Bengals went for it on fourth down and got three yards on a pass to Hudson for a first down.

A few plays later, Cincinnati faced a 3^rd-and-7 at the Texans 32-yard line. Burrow fired a dart to the right side and hit Trenton Irwin for a touchdown. The e.xtra point attempt was successful by Evan McPherson, and the scoring drive went 75 yards on 10 plays and lasted 5:17.

Following a touchback, the Texans began their possession at the 25-yard line. Quarterback C.J. Stroud quickly found wide receiver Tank Dell for a completion to the right side of seven yards. Devin Singletary carried the ball to the right side for a 12-yard gain, punishing a would-be tackler out of bounds at the end of the carry.

Singletary ran again, this time picking up two yards. Stroud fired incomplete over the middle to rookie receiver Xavier Hutchinson, and the Texans faced third down. With eight yards needed, Stroud again threw incomplete, and the Texans punted from their own 46-yard line. Cameron Johnston boomed a beauty that was fair-caught at the Bengals' 12-yard line.

Mixon carried for a pickup of three yards on first down and then Burrow completed a short pass for six yards. On 3^rd-and-1 from their own 21, Burrow hit wide receiver Tyler Boyd for a 4-yard gain and a first down. Mixon then gained 11 yards to keep the chains moving. Burrow threw incomplete over the middle, found Trayveon Williams for a pair of yards, and it was 3^rd-and-8 for Cincinnati at their own 37-yard line. Burrow scrambled for a yard, and the Bengals punt unit hit the field. Dell returned it 11 yards and Houston began it's second possession of the day at its own 18-yard line, with 3:42 left in the opening quarter.

Stroud threw deep to tight end Dalton Schultz on the left side, and the Texans picked up 23 yards. On 1^st-and-10 from their own 41-yard line, Singletary bulled his way through the left side for a gain of six yards. On 2^nd-and-4, Singletary carried again and picked up three, setting up 3^rd-and-1. The Texans were flagged for a false start, and on 3^rd-and-6 from their own 45-yard line, the Texans got the first down. Stroud dialed up wide receiver Robert Woods over the middle for a 15-yard completion.

On 1^st-and-10 at the Bengals 40-yard line, Singletary weaved his way into the Cincinnati secondary for a 22-yard gain. In the red zone with a 1^st-and-10 at the 18-yard line of the Bengals, Stroud threw incomplete. On the next play, Stroud threw to Dell, but the pass fell incomplete. The 3^rd-and-10 snap saw a beauty of a throw from Stroud to Dell for nine yards. But the Bengals threw the red challenge flag to have it reviewed. The ruling was upheld, Cincinnati was charged with a timeout, and the Texans lined up the offense on 4^th-and-1 at the 9-yard line. Stroud was under center and fumbled the snap, which the Bengals recovered.

The Texans defense stood tall, though. Following an incompletion, Burrow threw short over the middle to Mixon, who was dropped for a loss of a yard by by Perryman and Tavierre Thomas. Burrow hit Ja'Marr Chase for eight yards, and Cincinnati punted.

The Texans took over at their own 34-yard line, and Singletary quickly gained seven. On 2^nd-and-3, Houston got tricky. Dell took a reverse for 13 yards and a first down. Singletary blasted into the Bengals defense for four yards. Stroud then found Dell for a 17-yard completion, and the Texans were at the Cincinnati 25-yard line.

Singletary carried to the right side, and was pushed out of bounds after gaining four more yards. Then Stroud connected with wide receiver Noah Brown beyond the first down marker, and the Texans were awarded more yards on a penalty when the Bengals ripped off Brown's helmet.

On 1^st-and-Goal at the Cincinnati 6-yard line, Stroud hit Dell on the right side, and the rookie made a move to dive into the end zone for a score. Newly-signed kicker Matt Ammendola tacked on the extra point and the game was tied at 7-all.

Cincinnati took over on its 25 and got three yards on the ground. Mixon carried on second down and picked up five more. On 3^rd-and-2, Burrow threw incomplete, and the Bengals were off the field for a second straight 3-and-Out.

Dell returned the ensuing punt for six yards, and the offense came onto the field with a 1^st-and-10 at its own 20.

Stroud went deep on the very first play to Brown, and the Texans had a 30-yard completion to midfield. Singletary picked up a yard on first down, and Stroud threw incomplete on the next play. Facing a 3^rd-and-9 with 7:30 left in the half, the Texans were penalized for a false start. It was a 3^rd-and-14 situation at their own 46-yard line, and Stroud came through with a 19-yard pass to Schultz.

A Singletary carry on first down was stopped for gain, and on second down Stroud went back to Schutlz for a 4-yard completion. The Bengals' pass rush enveloped Stroud, and the officials ruled that he fumbled the ball.

Cincinnati took over at its own 28-yard line with 5:31 left in the second quarter, and Burrow threw to Boyd for two yards. The next play resulted in a Sheldon Rankins sack of Burrow for a loss of six. The third down pass was a completion of 13 to Chase, and the Bengals lined up on offense for the fourth down try. They were flagged for a delay of game, and punted again after a third straight 3-and-Out.

The Houston offense was back on the field at its own 13-yard line with just 2:40 left in the half. Singletary carried up the gut for a 5-yard gain. On second down, Stroud dialed up Brown yet again for an explosive play. The completion went for 28 yards and play stopped for the 2-minute warning.

After the break, Singletary was dropped for a loss of three yards, and Stroud threw incomplete on second down. With 1:00 to play in the half, Houston faced a 3^rd-and-13 at its own 42-yard line. Stroud and Brown went back to work, as the duo got 29 more yards and a first down at the Bengals' 29-yard line. Houston called a timeout, and Stroud misfired to the right side on a pass intended for Mike Boone. On second down, Stroud connected with Boone for a gain of three yards, and the Texans faced a 3^rd-and-7 at the Cincinnati 26-yard line.

Following a Texans timeout with 0:19 left in the second quarter, Stroud dialed up Schutlz on the left side, but was incomplete. Ammendola came on for a 45-yard field goal attempt, and he connected.

The Texans went up, 10-7, with just 10 seconds remaining before the intermission.

Ammendola then dropped his kickoff just inside the 3-yard line and Dare Ogunbowale tattooed the return man at the 9-yard line. Burrow kneeled on the first down snap, and the two teams went to the locker rooms for halftime.

A touchback on the second half kickoff set up Houston at its' own 25-yard line. Singletary quickly ran for a 12-yard gain, and then followed it with three more. Stroud then scrambled and bought himself time to drill Brown for 20 more yards and a first down.

Singletary then carried for three yards, and got Houston another first down with a 7-yard carry. Stroud connected with Dell for a 6-yard completion, and then Stroud hit John Metchie, III for a 19-yard completion.

On 1^st-and-Goal at the Cincinnati 5-yard line, Singletary ran up the middle for a couple yards. The 2^nd-and-Goal play at the 3-yard line saw Stroud fake the give to Singletary, and then throw incomplete to Dell in the back right of the end zone. On 3^rd-and-Goal at the 3, Stroud rolled to his right, threw to the back right of the end zone again, and Robert Woods caught the pass. But he was penalized for illegal touching, and the Texans had to settle for a field goal attempt of 22 yards. Ammendola made it, and the Texans extended their lead to 13-7 with 9:27 remaining in the third quarter.

The Bengals began their next possession at the 25-yard line, and Burrow completed a pass for a yard, then threw incomplete over the middle to set up 3^rd-and-9 at the 26. A strip-sack by Rankins, with the Bengals recovering the fumble, resulted in a loss of 13 yards, and Cincinnati had to punt again.

The Texans took over at their own 41-yard line with 7:59 left in the third. Stroud immediately went deep on the left side for Dell, who drew a defensive pass interference call. It moved the ball 42 yards to the Bengals' 17-yard line.

In the red zone on first down, Stroud threw left to Singletary, who scooted 11 yards for another first down.

On 1^st-and-Goal at the Cincinnati 6-yard line, Singletary glided in for a touchdown run to the right side, and the Ammendola point after staked Houston to a 20-7 lead with 7:08 remaining in the third.

The Bengals offense got going on the next drive, though. Burrow eluded a sack and scrambled for a gain of 17 yards on first down. Then he and Boyd linked up for a 14-yard completion. Mixon rumbled for 15 yards. A hold pushed the Bengals back 10 yards, but Burrow completions to Hudson and Boyd set Cincinnati up with a 3^rd-and-5 at the Texans 24-yard line. Then, Jonathan Greenard and the pass rush swallowed Burrow for a loss of eight yards, and Cincinnati attempted a 50-yard field goal, which was good.

Cincinnati pulled to within 20-10 with 3:00 left in the third quarter.

A Singletary rush attempt gained a yard, and then Stroud hit Metchie for six yards. On 3^rd-and-3 at the Houston 32-yard line, Stroud wanted Dell deep up the left side, but was incomplete. Houston punted for the first time since the opening possession of the game.

The Bengals faced a 1^st-and-10 at their own 27 and Burrow completed a 3-yarder to Boyd. Houston was flagged for pass interference on the next play, and the Bengals had a first down at their own 38. Mixon was met in the backfield by Greenard on the next play for a loss of two. Burrow then lofted a pass over the middle for Chase, and it ended up as a 64-yard touchdown connection. The kick after was good, and the Texans lead was cut to 20-17 with 0:10 remaining in the third quarter.

Houston's offense started the next drive at its own 25-yard line. On first down, Singletary carried for a gain of five, and the quarter concluded.

The Texans started the fourth quarter with a 20-17 lead in hand and the football. Starting at their own 30, Stroud hit Brown for a 34-yard completion to put it at the Cincinnati 36.

After a 17-yard pass to Xavier Hutchinson pushed the ball down to the 19. After an incomplete pass, on 2nd-and-10, Singletary rushed for 11 yards to the eight to set up first-and-goal. Stroud capped the drive with his second touchdown run of the season, and the kick was good making it 27-17 with 12:47 left in the fourth quarter.

On the ensuing drive, the Bengals started at their own 24. Burrow scrambled up the middle on first down for two yards to set up 2nd-and-8, which Mixon rushed for another two yards.

On 3rd-and-6 from their own 26, Burrow hit Boyd for a 19-yard completion up to the 47. Burrow hit Drew Sample for a nine-yard pickup to get into Texans territory.

After an incomplete pass by Burrow, on 3rd-and-1, Mixon got loose for nine yards to set up a first down at the Texans 35. On the next play, DeAndre Houston-Carson ended the drive for the Bengals with an interception with 9:35 left to go.

After the interception, the Texans started at their own 24 and Singletary quickly got them up field with a 14-yard scamper up to the 38. On first down, Singletary rushed for another two yards, before Stroud hit Dell for an 11-yard pickup and first down in Cincinnati territory. Back-to-back runs by Singletary put the Texans in a 3rd-and-7 but Stroud's pass to Brown fell short and the Texans were forced to punt with 5:50 remaining in the game.

Pinned back on their own eight, Cincinnati started the drive with a 23-yard completion to Chase, getting them up to the 31. After back-to-back incomplete passes, Burrow hit Irwin for a 22-yard completion on 3rd-and-10 to get the ball to the 47 of Houston. A three-yard pass to Sample made it 2nd-and-7 and on the next play an unnecessary roughness penalty moved the ball up to the 14. On 1st-and-10, Burrow was intercepted by Shaquill Griffin in the endzone with 3:52 left and the score still at 27-17.After a couple of runs by Singletary, Stroud was intercepted by Cam Taylor-Britt of the Bengals and returned it to the Texans four-yard-line. It was only Stroud's second interception of the season.

Following an incomplete pass and penalty for defensive pass interference in the endzone, Mixon rushed in from a yard out for the score. It made it 27-24 with 3:18 remaining.

After the Texans went three and out on the next drive, the Bengals went 58 yards on six plays in 37 seconds for McPherson to hit a 31-yard field goal to tie the game at 27-27 with 1:33 left.The Texans took over with 1:33 left. After an incomplete pass and four-yard run by Singletary, on 3rd-and-6, Stroud hit Schultz for a 25-yard pickup and a first down at the Cincinnati 46. After a short pass to Boone, on 2nd-and-6, Stroud hit Brown for a 22-yard pass down to the Cincinnati 20.

With five seconds left, Ammendola stepped up and nailed a 38-yard field goal to seal the 30-27 victory as time expired.