Ka’imi Fairbairn hit five field goals and Houston led 15-7 entering the fourth quarter at NRG Stadium on November 2, 2025, but Wil Lutz’s 34-yard field goal as time expired gave Denver an 18-15 win and their sixth straight victory. C.J. Stroud’s first-quarter concussion left Davis Mills to manage the offense for three-plus quarters; Mills went 17-of-30 for 137 yards without a touchdown as Houston converted 3 of 17 third downs and went scoreless after Fairbairn’s 41-yarder at 9:18 of the third quarter. Bo Nix finished 18-of-37 for 173 yards and two touchdowns, with a 25-yard scramble on Denver’s final drive setting up Lutz’s game-winner.
Date: November 2, 2025 | Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston, TX | Attendance: 70,471 | Game Time: 3:22 | TV: FOX | Referee: Ronald Torbert
Table of Contents
Score by Quarter
Team
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Final
Denver Broncos (7-2)
0
7
0
11
18
Houston Texans (3-5)
3
9
3
0
15
Scoring Summary
Time
Team
Play
Drive
Score
Q1 — 0:04
Houston
Ka’imi Fairbairn 23-yd FG
8 plays, 54 yds
HOU 3–0
Q2 — 7:11
Houston
Ka’imi Fairbairn 41-yd FG
10 plays, 28 yds
HOU 6–0
Q2 — 4:52
Denver
Courtland Sutton 30-yd TD pass from Bo Nix (Lutz XP)
7 plays, 70 yds
DEN 7–6
Q2 — 1:52
Houston
Ka’imi Fairbairn 38-yd FG
9 plays, 53 yds
HOU 9–7
Q2 — 0:00
Houston
Ka’imi Fairbairn 40-yd FG*
4 plays, 9 yds
HOU 12–7
Q3 — 9:18
Houston
Ka’imi Fairbairn 41-yd FG
6 plays, 24 yds
HOU 15–7
Q4 — 12:28
Denver
RJ Harvey 27-yd TD pass from Bo Nix (Nix to Franklin 2-pt conversion)
8 plays, 61 yds
Tied 15–15
Q4 — 0:00
Denver
Wil Lutz 34-yd FG
6 plays, 48 yds
DEN 18–15
*Michael Bandy’s fumbled punt was recovered by Jaylin Smith, setting up the drive directly.
Team Stats
Stat
Denver
Houston
Total Yards
271
268
Passing Yards (net)
171
191
Rushing Yards
100
77
Total Plays
61
72
Yards per Play
4.4
3.7
Comp/Att
18/37
23/40
First Downs
15
15
Passing 1st Downs
9
11
Rushing 1st Downs
6
2
Penalty 1st Downs
0
2
3rd Down Efficiency
6/15 (40.0%)
3/17 (17.6%)
4th Down Efficiency
0/0
1/1
Red Zone (Made-Att)
0/1
0/3
Turnovers
2
0
Fumbles Lost
1
0
Interceptions Thrown
1
0
Penalties
4 for 41 yds
4 for 29 yds
Sacks-Yards Lost
1 for 2 yds
4 for 25 yds
Time of Possession
25:24
34:36
Passing
Denver Broncos
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
QBR
RTG
Bo Nix
18/37
173
4.7
2
1
1-2
59.1
68.9
Houston Texans
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
QBR
RTG
C.J. Stroud
6/10
79
7.9
0
0
2-9
81.0
85.0
Davis Mills
17/30
137
4.6
0
0
2-16
50.1
68.3
Team
23/40
191
5.4
0
0
4-25
—
72.5
Stroud completed 6 of 10 for 79 yards and took two sacks before the concussion ended his day; Mills took the remaining two sacks, losing 16 yards, across three-plus quarters without a touchdown.
Rushing
Denver Broncos
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
J.K. Dobbins
15
61
4.1
0
12
Bo Nix
3
36
12.0
0
25
RJ Harvey
2
5
2.5
0
3
Adam Prentice
1
2
2.0
0
2
Troy Franklin
2
-4
-2.0
0
2
Team
23
100
4.3
0
25
Houston Texans
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
Nick Chubb
11
34
3.1
0
8
Woody Marks
10
27
2.7
0
7
C.J. Stroud
2
12
6.0
0
6
Davis Mills
2
7
3.5
0
7
British Brooks
2
0
0.0
0
0
Jaylin Noel
1
-3
-3.0
0
-3
Team
28
77
2.8
0
8
Receiving
Denver Broncos
Player
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
TGT
RJ Harvey
5
51
10.2
1
27
5
Courtland Sutton
1
30
30.0
1
30
6
Troy Franklin
4
27
6.8
0
13
10
Adam Trautman
2
25
12.5
0
21
2
Pat Bryant
2
20
10.0
0
13
3
Michael Bandy
1
16
16.0
0
16
1
Tyler Badie
2
6
3.0
0
12
3
Evan Engram
0
0
—
0
0
3
J.K. Dobbins
1
-2
-2.0
0
-2
1
Team
18
173
9.6
2
30
34
Harvey’s touchdown was his third receiving score in three consecutive games, the longest such streak by a rookie in Broncos franchise history.
Houston Texans
Player
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
TGT
Dalton Schultz
6
77
12.8
0
47
8
Nico Collins
7
75
10.7
0
26
11
Xavier Hutchinson
3
30
10.0
0
19
5
Christian Kirk
4
26
6.5
0
13
8
Jayden Higgins
1
4
4.0
0
4
1
Dare Ogunbowale
1
2
2.0
0
2
1
Harrison Bryant
1
2
2.0
0
2
2
Woody Marks
0
0
—
0
0
3
Team
23
216
9.4
0
47
39
Collins played his first game back after missing the previous week with a concussion, catching seven passes on 11 targets.
Defense
Denver Broncos
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Alex Singleton
10
4
0
1
0
0
Talanoa Hufanga
9
5
0
0
2
0
Dre Greenlaw
8
1
1.0
0
0
1
Kris Abrams-Draine
7
5
0
1
0
0
Brandon Jones
6
3
0
0
1
0
Riley Moss
5
5
0
0
1
0
Zach Allen
5
4
1.0
1
2
3
Dondrea Tillman
4
1
0.5
0
0
1
Justin Strnad
3
2
0
0
0
0
Malcolm Roach
3
0
0.5
0
0
1
Jonathon Cooper
2
1
1.0
1
0
1
Devon Key
2
2
0
0
0
0
Jahdae Barron
2
2
0
0
0
0
Ja’Quan McMillian
2
2
0
0
1
0
John Franklin-Myers
2
1
0
0
0
0
Mitchell Fraboni
1
1
0
0
0
0
Nik Bonitto
1
1
0
0
0
0
JL Skinner
1
1
0
0
0
0
Jonah Elliss
1
1
0
0
0
0
Que Robinson
1
1
0
0
0
0
D.J. Jones
1
0
0
0
0
0
Eyioma Uwazurike
1
0
0
0
0
0
Team
77
43
4.0
4
7
7
Houston Texans
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Kamari Lassiter
9
6
0
0
2
0
Azeez Al-Shaair
9
4
0
1
0
0
Henry To’oTo’o
7
2
0
1
0
0
Jalen Pitre
7
1
0
0
0
0
M.J. Stewart
4
3
0
0
1
0
Derek Stingley Jr.
4
2
0
0
2
0
Jake Hansen
3
2
0
0
0
0
Sheldon Rankins
3
1
0
0
0
0
Danielle Hunter
3
1
0
0
1
2
Tommy Togiai
3
1
0
0
0
0
Calen Bullock
2
2
0
0
1
0
Jaylin Smith
2
1
0
0
0
0
Tremon Smith
2
0
0
0
0
0
Will Anderson Jr.
1
1
1.0
1
0
2
Derek Barnett
1
1
0
1
0
0
Dare Ogunbowale
1
0
0
0
0
0
Darrell Taylor
1
0
0
0
0
0
British Brooks
1
0
0
0
0
0
Jamal Hill
1
0
0
0
0
0
Team
64
28
1.0
4
7
4
Interceptions
Player
Team
INT
YDS
TD
Calen Bullock
Houston
1
0
0
Special Teams
Kicking
Player
Team
FG (Made-Att)
Pct
Long
XP
Pts
Wil Lutz
Denver
1/2
50.0%
34
1/1
4
Ka’imi Fairbairn
Houston
5/6
83.3%
41
0/0
15
Fairbairn’s five made field goals tied his career high. Lutz’s 51-yard attempt on Denver’s opening drive was blocked by Denico Autry, the 13th blocked kick of Autry’s career, tying Julius Peppers for second most in the NFL since 1991. Fairbairn also missed from 51 yards on Houston’s first possession.
Punting
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
Long
TB
In20
Jeremy Crawshaw
Denver
8
428
53.5
76
1
2
Tommy Townsend
Houston
8
420
52.5
73
2
2
Kick Returns
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
Long
TD
RJ Harvey
Denver
2
54
27.0
28
0
Tyler Badie
Denver
1
22
22.0
22
0
Braxton Berrios
Houston
2
49
24.5
25
0
Tremon Smith
Houston
1
36
36.0
36
0
Punt Returns
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
Long
TD
Michael Bandy
Denver
4
30
7.5
12
0
Jaylin Noel
Houston
4
62
15.5
45
0
Game Notes
RJ Harvey became the first rookie in Broncos franchise history to catch a touchdown pass in three consecutive games.
Tight end Marcedes Lewis, 41, entered on Denver’s fourth offensive snap and became the oldest player at his position ever to appear in an NFL game and the oldest player in Broncos franchise history. Lewis had been signed to the roster on October 29, 2025.
Denver went 4-0 on the season in games where they trailed entering the fourth quarter. This was the fourth.
Pat Surtain II did not play, sidelined by a pectoral strain with multiple games expected to be missed.
Injury Report
Player
Team
Position
Injury
Status
Pat Surtain II
Denver
CB
Pectoral strain
DNP — multiple games expected
J.T. Gray
Denver
DB
Hamstring
Left game (Q3)
Trent Sherfield
Denver
WR
Knee
Left game (Q3)
C.J. Stroud
Houston
QB
Concussion
Left game (Q1)
Tytus Howard
Houston
OL
Concussion evaluation
Left game (Q1)
Christian Harris
Houston
LB
Shin
Missed second half
Darrell Taylor
Houston
DE
Ankle
Left game (Q3)
Nico Collins returned from a one-week concussion absence and played a full game.
Denver went to 7-2 on the season, winning four games from a fourth-quarter deficit without a loss. Houston dropped to 3-5 despite holding the ball for 34:36 and committing zero turnovers, advantages that dissolved when Nix covered 25 yards on foot in the closing minute and Lutz did the rest.
Bobby A. Smith is a Senior Sports Analyst with over nine years of professional experience, specializing in forensic analysis of game strategy and player performance.
His work provides a definitive lens on a broad spectrum of professional sports, delivering expert commentary on the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, Soccer, Boxing, Cricket, F1, and NASCAR. Unlike surface-level reporting, Bobby’s analysis is known for identifying the critical, game-deciding patterns that raw statistics often obscure. Every article is grounded in rigorous, fact-based research and an unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity.
