With the game up for grabs, the Texans’ two stars came up short.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson was strip-sacked on a late fourth quarter drive. Defensive end JJ Watt whiffed on a gimme third-down sack on the ensuing possession.

Little went right when it mattered most during an inauspicious outing for the Texans in a 16-10 loss to Carolina on Sept. 29 at NRG Stadium.

“It was bad,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “We didn’t do a good job and we’ve got to do a better job.”

Watt took the loss personally.

“I take that one all on me,” Watt said. “If I make that play at the end, they’re probably out of field goal range, we get the ball back with some time left. So I put that 100 percent on me. I have to make that play.”

With 4:11 remaining and trailing 13-10, Panthers defensive end Vernon Butler caused a fumble with a big hit on Watson. The loose ball was recovered by safety Eric Reid at the Houston 33-yard line.

“We didn’t—I didn’t—scan and pick up the blitz,” Watson said. “I held the ball too long and I fumbled the ball and things like that. I’ve got to make sure everyone is locked in, and each and every play, we have to take it one play at a time. We can’t look ahead and we can’t look back. We have to take care of the moment. We didn’t do that.”

The sack was the sixth on Watson.

“We were running a pressure on that play,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “Again, I thought the timing of that pressure was perfect. I thought the guys did what they needed to do. Then Vernon (Butler) was in position to punch it out. Again, Eric (Reid) was the guy on the spot to make the play.”

With 3:14 left on the following Panthers drive, Watt loomed right over quarterback Kyle Allen for what looked to be his second sack of the game, but he simply missed on the tackle. Allen, who finished 24-for-32 passing for 232 yards starting in place of Cam Newton, ducked, eluded Watt and found Jarius Wright for 17 yards to the Houston 12-yard line for a first down.

“I think that was just reaction,” Allen said. “Kind of got caught up in the middle of the field. I was getting ready to throw it, and I saw him squirt through. Just kind of reacted and got out of it. Thank God I stayed on my feet. It was a huge play in the game for us.”

The first down enabled Carolina to chew up clock and eventually led to a Joey Slye 26-yard field goal with 31 seconds left for a 16-10 Panthers lead.

With 28 seconds left and no timeouts, Watson got the ball from the Houston 25 to the Carolina 47, but his Hail Mary attempt fell long as time expired.

It was not a great day for the offense, which mustered 264 total yards, scored one touchdown on a Watson 1-yard keeper that tied the game in the third quarter, and produced two turnovers.

Watson completed 21 of 33 passes for 160 yards. Running back Carlos Hyde had 58 yards on 12 carries. DeAndre Hopkins had 41 yards on five catches.

Watson, who averaged 4.8 yards per pass attempt, said the Panthers played primarily Cover 4 defense, which prevented downfield attempts because the safeties sat back and kept everything in front of them.

“It was just us in general, starting with myself, just getting everyone ready,” Watson said. “Getting everyone on the same page, taking what they give us and not putting us behind the sticks, especially on second and third down where they can kind of play the sticks and so the chances of making it is a lot harder. I just got to do a good job of making sure we get the right personnel in, everyone is locked in on the same page and I make the right decision.”

It was another poor outing for an offensive line that went through a different starting lineup for the fourth time in four games, with Greg Mancz starting at right guard in place of the injured Zach Fulton.

“It starts up front. We have to be able to protect better,” Texans tackle Tytus Howard said. “We’ve been able to run the ball successfully this season. We have to be able to pass the ball also. We have to be more consistent when the defense causes turnovers, but I feel like we’ll go in, correct that and get better when we face Atlanta (this week).”

Defensively, the Texans were sound, forcing three turnovers and getting three sacks. Houston had a takeaway for the 17th consecutive game, extending its current league-best streak.

The offense was unable to take advantage.

“That’s the way the game goes sometimes,” Texans safety Justin Reid said. “The offense struggled a little bit this time, but in New Orleans we struggled. We just have to keep building, keep getting better.”

Still, asked if he felt if the game came down to the missed sack, Watt said yes.

“It’s a 60-minute game, but control what you can control,” said Watt, who had six total tackles, a sack, a fumble caused and a fumble recovery. “That was my play to control. I didn’t do a good enough job so I will take full responsibility for it.”

The Texans are now 2-2 with the Falcons coming to town Sunday.

“The way the game went was a little frustrating , but offensively, defensively, special teams … we all could’ve done a little bit more,” Reid said. “We never want to lose a game, especially home games. The only bright spot I’m looking at is in the AFC we’re still 2-0. We’ll let this one marinate 24 hours and improve for Atlanta.”