Deshaun Watson threw two second quarter touchdown passes to Kenny Stills, and the Houston Texans outlasted the Tennessee Titans 21-14 Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium.
The Pro Bowl quarterback was not without error as he threw two interceptions as part of his 19-of-27 for 243 yards.
Stills caught three passes for 35 yards. However, wideout DeAndre Hopkins was the team’s leading receiver with six catches for 119 yards. Receiver Will Fuller, who was questionable with a hamstring injury and limited in practice all week, was not curtailed in his performance as he caught five passes for 61 yards.
Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who entered Week 15 with the league’s highest yards per pass attempt at 9.8, completed 22-of-36 for 279 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Rookie receiver A.J. Brown was the game’s leading receiver with eight catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.
In the first quarter, Titans safety Kenny Vaccaro intercepted a Watson pass in the end zone intended for running back Duke Johnson to erase a potential Texans scoring drive on the game’s opening possession.
Houston’s special teams prevented Tennessee from getting points off the turnover with defensive end Angelo Blackson blocking a 45-yard field goal.
The Titans and Texans each had missed red zone opportunities thanks to giveaways. In the second quarter, the Texans intercepted Tannehill on a first-and-goal from the 5-yard line early in the period.
Late in the third quarter, defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons tipped a Watson pass on a second-and-goal from the 4-yard line and linebacker Jayon Brown picked it off to keep Houston from scoring with under a minute to go in the third quarter leading 14-7.
Texans running back Carlos Hyde reached the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career as he gained 101 yards on 23 carries. The 29-year-old, who joined the Texans in a trade on Aug. 31 with the Kansas City Chiefs, put Houston on top 21-14 with a 10-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.
Titans rusher Derrick Hyde was similarly as effective as he rushed 21 times for 86 yards. The Texans defense limited the Titans to 163 rushing yards.
Both teams had trouble sacking the quarterback with Tennessee and Houston combining for three. Inside linebackers Zach Cunningham and Benardrick McKinney split a sack, and Kamalei Correa had the Titans’ only sack of the game.
Cunningham finished with 14 tackles. Brown had a team-high 10 tackles for Tennessee.
Texans rookie defensive end Charles Omenihu ended the Titans’ last gasp with a sack of Tannehill on a first-and-10 from the 12-yard line with 0:12 to play.
The Texans improve to 9-5 on the season while the Titans are 8-6. Houston and Tennessee will have a rematch in two weeks at NRG Stadium. The start time is subject to flexible scheduling but is tentatively set for 12:00 p.m. CT.
Summary
The Texans’ defense produced a takeaway and the special teams blocked a field goal and stopped a fake punt to help Houston be strong in all three phases en route to a 21-14 win.
Turning point
With 11:01 to go in the second quarter, Mercilus intercepted Tannehill when safety Justin Reid knocked a sure reception out of tight end Anthony Firkser’s hands. Mercilus returned the takeaway 86 yards to setup Houston’s first touchdown of the game and take a 7-0 lead.
Unique stat
Titans: TE Jonnu Smith’s 57-yard run was the longest by a tight end since 1990.
Texans: With two touchdown passes, Watson joined Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young as the only players in NFL history with multiple seasons of 25-plus passing touchdowns and five-plus rushing touchdowns.
Scoring summary
Houston Texans — 0, 14, 0, 10 — 24
Tennessee Titans — 0, 0, 7, 14 — 21
Second quarter
HTX — Stills 12 pass from Watson (Fairbairn kick), 9:59
HTX — Stills 16 pass from Watson (Fairbairn kick), 3:14
Third quarter
TEN — Tannehill 1 run (Succop kick), 5:34
Fourth quarter
TEN — Brown 5 pass from Tannehill (Succop kick), 13:35
HTX — Hyde 10 run (Fairbairn kick), 10:34
HTX — Fairbairn 29 kick, 3:26
TEN — Lewis 11 pass from Tannehill (Succop kick), 2:04
Injury report
Titans: none
Texans: ILB Benardrick McKinney left the game late in the fourth quarter with a concussion.
up next
The Texans will stay on the road for a Saturday afternoon encounter with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Week 16.
The Titans stay at home and will host the New Orleans Saints Sunday afternoon in Week 16.