The Tennessee Titans were riding high, winning five in a row, before the Houston Texans came into town.
After a disappointing loss to the Denver Broncos, the 9-5 Texans rebounded in big fashion, beating the Titans 24-21 at Nissan Stadium. They earned the lead in the AFC South and have a prime chance to win it, needing a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday to clinch.
Meanwhile, the Titans dropped their second game in the Ryan Tannehill era. They now sit at 8-6, needing a win over the 10-3 New Orleans Saints to keep their hopes of winning the division alive.
Titans linebacker Rashaan Evans described the loss to the Texans postgame as “a bitter pill to swallow.” He also didn’t mince words in comparing his Week 15 opponent and 16 opponents.
“I have a different mindset going into the Saints game because this Saints team is a lot better than this Texans team, for a fact showing on film,” said Evans. “For us, we have to play our best games these two games and let everything else play where it wants to play.”
Rashaan Evans: "We have to play our best game these next two games." #HOUvsTEN pic.twitter.com/kzrSIhPVX1
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) December 15, 2019
The Saints stand as one of the NFL’s best teams.
New Orleans is third in the NFC heading into their clash with the 6-7 Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football. They rank fifth in scoring offense (26.5 points per game) and 16th in scoring defense (23.5 points guard). Superstars are littered across their roster in Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara and Cameron Jordan.
The Saints also very well could be 9-4 right now. To kick off their season, the Texans took them to the brink of defeat. They ultimately won 30-28 on a game-winning Will Lutz 52-yard field goal as time expired in New Orleans.
The Texans also beat the Titans on Sunday. Evans, a first-round pick in 2018, finished the game with seven combined tackles while Houston averaged 8.4 yards per play in Nashville.
If the Titans were to defeat the Saints in Week 16, the fate of their season could reside in Houston. The Texans host Tennessee in their season finale.
Could Evans’ postgame thoughts have given the Deshaun Watson-led Texans some bulletin board material 14 days before a rematch that may define his team’s season?