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Cardinals cornerbacks, in a battle for a starting spot, struggle; Jenkins hurt.

HOUSTON – Last week, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said only one starting position remained open: the cornerback job opposite Patrick Peterson.

Nothing that happened Sunday at NRG Stadium changed that.

If anything, the position is a bigger concern now. Mike Jenkins, who started in place of Patrick Peterson (ankle), suffered a right-knee injury in the first quarter.

The severity of the injury isn’t known, but there appeared to be little reason for hope. Jenkins was helped on to a cart and pounded the flat surface with his right hand, which has been in a cast since he broke it early in camp.

Jenkins, Justin Bethel and rookie Brandon Williams are fighting for the job, and Bethel and Williams had their struggles on Sunday.

Bethel is coming off a foot injury and played for the first time this preseason. He gave up a touchdown, and Arians said it was obvious Bethel was rusty. Bethel said the foot bothered him as the game wore on.

“I have a tendency to push myself a little farther than I should,” he said.

Asked if hoped to play Thursday against the Broncos, Bethel said, “It probably wouldn’t be the best thing for me to do.”

Osweiler shines

Quarterback Brock Osweiler, in his first year with Houston, appears to be adapting well to coach Bill O’Brien’s offense.

Osweiler completed 11 of 13 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals. “I felt more comfortable than I have in the past,” said Osweiler, who played at Arizona State. “Trust me, there’s always room for improvement. There’s a laundry list of things that we need to clean up from tonight, and we’ll do that as soon as we get back to work on Tuesday.”

Injury report

In addition to Jenkins, running back Stepfan Taylor suffered a knee injury and did not return. The severity of his injury isn’t known, Arians said.

The Cardinals took no chances with a few injured players, holding them out the game.

Half of the starting secondary sat out: safety Tyrann Mathieu (knee) and Patrick Peterson.

Mathieu started practicing last week, and coaches want to give him more time. It’s unlikely he’ll play in the preseason because starters tend to not play in the fourth and final game.

Peterson tweaked an ankle in practice on Friday and missed the game as a precaution.

Two of the team’s top three receivers, Larry Fitzgerald (knee) and John Brown (concussion) also were held out. Fitzgerald’s injury has been listed as minor, and he caught passes before Sunday’s game.

Brown was limited in practice last week. He suffered the concussion about three weeks ago and has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol.

But he has been held out of contact drills.

Running back Kerwynn Williams also did not play. That’s probably because the team plans to play him a lot against the Broncos on Thursday.

Taking a look

The Cardinals haven’t used a no-huddle offense much in Arians’ tenure, but that might change this year, the coach said.

The Cardinals ran some no huddle in the first half, because Arians wanted the experience of having to do it on the road.