The Houston Texans appear to be treating their season finale as a meaningless game. Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins aren’t expected to play. Several other starters and key contributors will likely join them.
If the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers at noon, Houston will lock into the AFC’s fourth seed.
However, for the Tennessee Titans, it’s anything but a meaningless game. They need to win to get into the postseason. If not, their road to a playoff berth gets that much more complicated.
So how will the Texans play spoiler to the Titans’ playoff hopes if they don’t have starters in? Players and coaches will tell you how.
Romeo Crennel: Tight coverage to limit Ryan Tannehill
The Titans have lost two in a row, including one to the Texans. However, Ryan Tannehill remains red hot, playing the part of one the NFL’s best quarterbacks since taking over for Marcus Mariota full-time.
Under Tannehill, Tennessee is 6-3. He has tossed for 2,544 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions on a 70.7% completion rate. His 116.5 passer rating leads the league.
So how are the Texans going to limit him? Tight coverage, as they did in Week 15.
“Well, I think that if you can take away some of the big plays and make him have to execute when guys are tight in coverage – we were tighter in coverage than maybe we had been other games,” defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said on Thursday.
In Week 15, the Texans limited Tannehill to his worst game since Week 10, as he went 22 of 36 for 279 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on a 61.11% completion rate, good for a 92.2 passer rating, equating to his second-worst game as a starter in 2019.