Division games have historically so often been close ones for the Tennessee Titans, and this one was no different.
The Titans fell to the Houston Texans, 24-21 in Nissan Stadium on Sunday, allowing the Texans to take the top place in the AFC South.
With the loss, the Titans’ road to the postseason gets tougher, and their four-game winning streak comes to an end.
Here are some quick observations we made throughout the game.
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– The Titans deferred, allowing quarterback Deshaun Watson and the Texans offense the first go at it.
– Deandre Hopkins was a force early, recording a big 14-yard catch on the first drive.
– The Texans have started slow this season, and looked to change that, but Kenny Vaccaro jumped in front of the receiver and intercepted Watson in the end zone.
– The Titans started fast on offense, quickly making their way into Texans territory with 60-yard reception by rookie wide receiver A.J. Brown from the end-zone.
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– Kicker Ryan Succop’s 45-yard field goal attempt was blocked. Former Titan Angelo Blackson was the culprit.
– Kamalei Correa came up with a sack for a loss of eight yards on Watson after an unproductive drive on offense for the Titans.
– The Titans drove down to the red zone, but Tannehill was picked off at near the goal line on a pass that went off of tight end Anthony Firkser’s hands. Whitney Mercilus took it for 86 yards, setting up Kenny Stills touchdown reception from Watson.
– Watson sent yet another touchdown pass to Stills late in the half, giving the Texans an early 14-0 lead.
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– The Titans’ failed fake punt attempt gave the Texans excellent field position as the second quarter came to a close.
– Tannehill closed out a 9:26 drive with a rushing touchdown of his own to make it 14-7, Texans with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
– The Texans drove down the field quickly, but Jayon Brown picked the ball off in the end zone.
– Tight end Jonnu Smith showed he’s equally talented as a ball carrier, recording a 57-yard rush in the fourth quarter to give the Titans offense a burst of momentum.
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– Brown reeled in a touchdown catch from Tannehill at the end of the drive to tie the game at 14-14.
– Carlos Hyde and the Texans came up with a response, bringing the score to 21-14, Houston with 10:34 left to play.
– After a delay of game penalty, the Texans’ 29-yard field goal attempt was good.
– The Titans did manage to get the ball back with a matter of seconds before the end of the game, but were unable to produce any points. Tennessee arguably should have had one second left on the play clock, but the action ended there.