Carolina Panthers beat Houston Texans 16:13 in their NFL preseason clash on Thursday evening. The game took place at 23:00 on 28 August 2026 as part of the exhibition window. It was a narrow victory for the home side, decided by just three points.
Preseason matches rarely demand much from either side, but this one had a different feel. The scoreline suggested both defenses had something to say, and neither offence could quite pull away. And here's the thing about these early-season games — you watch for signs, not results.
Carolina's recent run before tonight told a mixed story. They had beaten Jacksonville 34:17 on 21 August, then lost 14:29 to the Bills three days earlier. Before that, a 33:30 victory over the Cardinals on 7 August showed they could trade blows with anyone. Tonight's result fits somewhere in between those extremes.
The Texans will have to be satisfied with not losing by more. A thirteen-point margin in a preseason game is nothing to complain about, and at least they kept the contest respectable until the final whistle. By then, both sides had probably shown enough to their coaches without giving away too much.
For Carolina, this extends their two wins from three preseason outings. They are now looking ahead to the regular season with something to build on, even if the margin of victory was slim. Three points is all that separated them, and in football, margins like that matter more than you'd expect.