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Lions dig early hole in 7-point setback at Houston

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HOUSTON — The Houston Texans jumped out to a 14-0 lead and then held off the Detroit Lions 20-13 Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium.

After the two teams fought to a scoreless tie at the end of the opening stanza, Houston scored twice in the second quarter for a 14-0 advantage — on a 6-yard pass from Brock Osweiler to tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz at the 12:56 mark followed by a 1-yard run by Lamar Miller with 7:04 to go in the half.

The Lions responded with a 47-yard field goal by Matt Prater with just 2 seconds remaining to set the halftime score at 14-3.

Prater had missed a 49-yard field goal attempt early in the first period.

Houston tacked on a 33-yard field goal by Nick Novak at the 5:51 juncture of the third quarter for a 17-3 lead. Those were the only points scored during the period.

The Lions scored early in the finale on a 1-yard pass from Matt Stafford to Theo Riddick with 14:50 showing on the clock to slice the gap to 17-10. Houston then mounted a sustained drive that culminated with Novak’s 36-yard field goal with 4:25 left in the game for a 20-10 Texans edge.

Prater then booted a 34-yard field goal to narrow the margin to 20-13 with 2:53 remaining to play. Detroit’s attempt at an onside kick was unsuccessful, giving Houston excellent field position and allowing the Texans to run out the clock.

The Lions are now 4-4 on the season and will travel to the Twin Cities to play the Minnesota Vikings starting at 1 p.m. next Sunday.

The Texans now stand 5-3 and have a bye week ahead. Their next game will be at the Jacksonville Jaguars with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13.