The line Houston was missing up front showed up in the box score. Guard Ed Ingram sat out with a groin injury and defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was inactive, and Cincinnati's front rotated pressure all afternoon, sacking Stroud 4 times. The Bengals' own line gave up 5 sacks of Burrow, but Cincinnati's offense never needed to lean on the running game the way Houston's did.
Chase entered this one a week removed from a 12-yard afternoon against Tampa Bay, and he answered immediately — a 32-yard touchdown against All-Pro corner Derek Stingley Jr. in the second quarter, then an 18-yard score on a third-down rollout in the third. Tee Higgins didn't find the end zone but led every receiver on the field with 95 yards on 5 catches.
Evan McPherson supplied the rest of the scoring with field goals from 51 and 57 yards, pushing his season mark to 6-for-6. Cincinnati is 2-0 for the first time since opening the year with back-to-back wins in recent seasons, and the win came on the road, something the Bengals hadn't managed yet in 2026.
Houston's problem wasn't moving the ball — 353 passing yards is a lot of yardage to have nothing to show for it. The Texans went 5-of-17 on third down and 0-for-4 in the red zone, settling for two field goals and never punching a drive across the goal line. David Montgomery, who scored twice against Buffalo in Week 1, managed just 10 yards on 6 carries this time, with Stroud himself leading Houston in rushing at 29 yards on 3 attempts out of pure survival.