The Texans and Titans with identical 8-5 records collide Sunday afternoon with the AFC South title on the line. Tennessee has the home-field advantage with the game being played at Nissan Stadium. That’s a big deal because the home team has won the last five matchups.
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Texans vs. Titans
When: Sunday, December 15
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)
Houston dethroned the defending Super Bowl Champion Patriots 28-22 two weeks ago at home but lost this past weekend 38-24 to the Denver Broncos. It begs the question, despite being in first place in the AFC South, are the Texans a top tier team? Deshaun Watson threw the ball 50 times last weekend for a total of 292 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and was sacked three times. The offensive line will have to do a better job of protecting him against the Titans. Another problem in last week’s loss was turnovers. In addition to the two interceptions, the Broncos Kareem Jackson also returned a fumble 70 yards for a touchdown. Carlos Hyde led the team in rushing with 73 yards, while DeAndre Hopkins continues to show why he is one of the best wide receivers in the league with seven catches for 120 yards and one touchdown. Can they utilize Hyde and the run game to set up Watson and the passing attack? That will be key to their success.
Defensively, the Texans struggled against the Broncos. Drew Lock, in his second career start, completed 22 of 27 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns. All three of those came in the first half. Ryan Tannehill has been dominant since being put back in the starting quarterback role and has one of the best backs in the league in Derrick Henry if he decides to hand it off. Zach Cunningham has stepped up in the absence of J.J. Watt and is fifth in the NFL with 119 tackles.
The Titans have won five of their last six games and return home after back-to-back road games. Last weekend, they defeated the Oakland Raiders 42-21. Tannehill threw for 391 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The performance was a season-high in yards and tied for the second-most touchdowns in a game. Tannehill’s favorite target was wideout A.J. Brown, who reeled in five catches for a season-high 153 yards and two touchdowns. They can also run the ball effectively with Henry, who has tallied over 100 yards in his last four games. Henry has 1,243 yards on the season, second in the NFL behind only Nick Chubb of Cleveland.
Tennessee is ranked 10th in the NFL in points allowed and faces a tough test in the Texans, who boast a dual-threat quarterback in Watson, a well-rounded back in Hyde and an All-Pro receiver in Hopkins. Defensively, the Texans need to get after Watson and shut down the running game early. Logan Ryan is a tackling machine at linebacker and Kevin Byard is tied for second in the NFL with four interceptions.