Tag: NFL Week 16

Davis Mills says Texans found a way to finish against the Titans

Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills says the team finally found a way to finish games, and it led to beating the Tennessee Titans 19-14.

Davis Mills knows the type of work the Houston Texans have been putting in since his return as starting quarterback.

In Week 14, the Texans took the Dallas Cowboys down to the wire, requiring the eventual playoffs qualifiers to need a 98-yard drive to win the game.

In Week 15, Houston grappled with the AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs into overtime. The Texans’ mistakes cost them 30-24.

Houston trailed the Tennessee Titans 14-10 in the fourth quarter at Nissan Stadium on Christmas Eve, but they weren’t going to let another close game slip away.

“These guys have been fighting so hard week in, week out, all season,” Mills said. “We just haven’t gotten the results we wanted, but we feel like really these past couple of weeks and the tail end of the season we’ve put a lot of good efforts up, put a lot of good stuff on tape. Just have to find a way to finish games, and today that’s what we did.”

Mills completed 17-of-28 for 178 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while taking just one sack against the Titans. The second-year signal caller mounted a comeback as Houston scored nine unanswered points to post a 19-14 victory and snap a nine-game losing streak.

However, it wasn’t just Mills and the offense playing stellar in the fourth quarter. Rookie linebacker Christian Harris and rookie safety Jalen Pitre each intercepted rookie quarterback Malik Willis on his last two drives to end the game. Rookie linebacker Jake Hansen had a key forced fumble of Derrick Henry with 13:53 to go in the game that sparked Houston’s comeback.

Said Mills: “Really all three phases, offense, defense, special teams making plays in and out of the game to make sure we came out with the win.”

The Texans have won three of their past four games at Nissan Stadium and are on a two-game winning streak.

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Texans WR Brandin Cooks says ‘it is win or lose with my guys’

Houston Texans receiver Brandin Cooks said that the team are “his guys” and they always will be regardless of the outcome.

Brandin Cooks has had an up and down season.

The 29-year-old has played in 11 games, missing four of them due to injury. The Houston Texans have also logged a 2-12-1 record with non-winning streaks as long as four and nine. Cooks has also had his moments of dissatisfaction with the franchise throughout the hard-luck season.

Cooks made his return from a three-game absence with a calf injury to catch four passes for 34 yards and a touchdown in the Texans’ 19-14 upset of the Tennessee Titans Christmas Eve at Nissan Stadium. The nine-year veteran was in better spirits following the victory.

“At the end of the day, it is win or lose with my guys and that’s what’s most important,” Cooks said. “I miss getting out here on the field with my guys and coming out here today and being able to go to battle and being able to finish and getting a [win]. That was huge and is very important.”

The Texans staved off a series sweep. The Titans have not swept the Texans since 2020, and Houston has won three of the last four contests in Nashville and currently rides a two-game winning streak in Tennessee.

“At the end of the day, I have a lot of respect for these guys and every chance I get I go out there and give my best,” said Cooks.

The former New Orleans Saints 2014 first-round pick has 48 catches for 554 yards and two touchdowns on the year.

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WATCH: Lovie Smith says Texans ‘keep fighting every day’

The Houston Texans beat the Tennessee Titans 19-14 in Week 16. Coach Lovie Smith told his players that despite the tough season, they keep fighting.

Houston Texans coach Lovie Smith is a big believer in his football team.

For just the second time this season, Smith gathered his team around a victorious locker room huddle and had a small talk, congratulating his players on their effort following a 19-14 win over the Tennessee Titans Saturday in Week 16 at Nissan Stadium.

“You keep coming to work,” Smith said. “We understand what’s happened this year, but you’re fighting every day. We said we have a three-game season. Nobody — I wouldn’t want to play this football team right now. This is a good football team. Like every game, it’s going to take all three phases, and that’s exactly what we did.”

The Texans generated two interceptions of rookie quarterback Malik Willis. In addition to keeping Derrick Henry below 150 rushing yards — a positive given he had tallied at least 200 rushing yards in each of his past four games against Houston — the defense also forced a fumble of the two-time NFL rushing champion.

Houston won the turnover battle. Houston won the game.

“Tomorrow you’re with your families,” Smith said. “Monday you’re off. Tuesday you’re off. We’ll see you Wednesday.”

Playoff picture: Bad Lions loss hurts but Detroit still has life

Playoff picture: Bad Lions loss hurts but Detroit still has life to earn one of the final NFC wild card berths

Detroit’s recent run of wins put the Lions in position to secure a playoff berth. Saturday’s humbling 37-23 loss in Carolina definitely provided a big hit to that postseason potential, but the Lions aren’t dead yet.

None of the paths to the postseason matter if the Lions don’t win their final two games, at home against Chicago and then Week 18 at Green Bay. There is a mathematical technicality where the Lions could get in by winning just one of those, but that contrivance seems quite unlikely.

After Saturday’s action, the Lions are 7-8. So are the Seattle Seahawks, who lost 24-10 to the Chiefs, Seattle’s fifth loss in six games. Those two teams are looking up at both Washington and the New York Giants, who hold the No. 6 and No. 7 seeds (the top seven get in) in the NFC.

New York lost to Minnesota when Vikings kicker Greg Joseph nailed a 61-yard field goal as time expired. The Giants are now 8-6-1. Washington is 7-7-1 after losing to the San Francisco 49ers.

Somehow, Detroit has to wind up with more wins than two of those three teams. The Lions do not have the tiebreaker with the Seahawks thanks to the 48-45 win by Seattle back in Week 3.

Remaining schedules, with records through Saturday:
Detroit – Bears (3-12), at Packers (6-8)

Seattle – Jets (7-8), Rams (4-10)

New York – Colts (4-9-1), at Eagles

Washington – Browns (6-9), Cowboys

There are combinations where Detroit can win both of its remaining games and still miss the postseason, too. Remember, the Lions have to pass two of those three teams in the win column.

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Texans DE Ogbonnia Okoronkwo says defensive line is finding its rhythm

Houston Texans DE Ogbonnia Okoronkwo says the defensive line is starting to find its rhythm following the 19-14 win over the Tennessee Titans.

Ogbonnia Okoronkwo had another impactful game.

The former Alief Taylor High School product notched 2.0 sacks in the Houston Texans’ 19-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans Saturday afternoon at Nissan Stadium. The productive outing was the third game in the past four wherein Okoronkwo has recorded a sack.

The former Los Angeles Rams 2018 fifth-round pick believes his production is simply a byproduct of the defensive line starting to come together over the past month.

“Credit to our coaches just making sure we knew what was going on,” Okoronkwo said Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV. “(DL coach) Jacques [Cesaire] is a great coach. We play hard for him, and we play hard for each other. D-line towards the end of the year, we’re finding our rhythm. We got Jonathan Greenard back. He brought a big spot for us. Maliek [Collins] is Maliek. We don’t have to say too much about that. I’m finding my own footing. We got our veteran guys, Mario [Addison] and Jerry [Hughes]. Everything started coming together. We’re just hoping to build on what we do.”

The Texans sacked Titans rookie quarterback Malik Willis four times and the defense picked him off twice.

Okoronkwo says that what has changed for him in the past four weeks is going out onto the field and not thinking too much when he is playing.

“I’m not really thinking about [rushing the passer] too much,” Okoronkwo said. “I’m just trying to do what’s required. I’m having fun. So, I just want to keep having fun.”

The Texans improve to 2-12-1 on the season. The Texans have 35 sacks on the season, up from 32 sacks a season ago.

Texans rookies deliver on defense with 19-14 edging of the Titans

The Houston Texans’ rookies on defense came up big in the 19-14 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 16.

The Houston Texans finally broke through their slump and delivered on Sunday to find a win 19-14 over the Tennessee Titans. It had been a long time coming for coach Lovie Smith and the whole roster with only one win through the first 15 weeks of the season.

Their victory was in large part fueled by a great game plan from Smith and an excellent performance from the defense. Running back Derrick Henry was still dominant with 126 yards and a touchdown but it still wasn’t enough with how the Texans were able to man handle rookie quarterback Malik Willis.

Willis was held to 99 yards on 14-23 passing and threw two key interceptions to second-round safety Jalen Pitre and third-round linebacker Christian Harris. The two defensive rookies have been stars the past month for Houston’s defense and this week it finally translated to a winning effort.

Harris had six total tackles and two passes defended while playing a key role in shutting down the running game and using his speed to key on Willis’ running ability. It was a long way from the effort he showed in his NFL debut against the Titans where he registered just one tackle earlier this season. His interception late in the fourth quarterback was practically a gift from Willis but a great example of Harris putting himself in the right position to make a play.

Meanwhile, Pitre lead the team with nine total tackles and brought the enforcer mentality that has gained him national recognition the second half of the season. After missing a key tackle early in the game that allowed Henry to rumble in for a score, he made up for that effort with the game clinching interception on the Titans final Hail Mary attempt.

Houston has to feel encouraged their high-capital rookies are starting to play up to their talent potential and draft status. They’ll have a much bigger challenge next week as they try to maintain their winning streak against Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Quick takeaways from the Lions Week 16 loss to the Panthers

On a terrible coaching effort, even worse tackling, Detroit’s own rushing ineptitude and more from the Week 16 loss

The Detroit Lions went into Carolina in Week 16 as favorites to beat the 5-9 Panthers. All that good faith and trust in the Lions quickly blew away in the frigid Bank of America Stadium.

The Panthers ran wild in a 37-23 win that wasn’t really as close as the final score would indicate. Carolina ran for a team-record 320 yards and relentlessly pummeled a hapless Lions defense. The score was 24-7 at halftime and Carolina extended that to 31-7 in the third quarter before the Lions “won” garbage time.

It was not the way head coach Dan Campbell envisioned the game playing out, nor any Lions fan. Detroit falls to 7-8 with the loss, snapping a streak where the Lions had won six of its last seven games. The Panthers improve to 6-9 but will win the NFC South if they win out, in control of their own playoff destiny.

Here are a few quick takeaways from the Lions loss.

Lions get dominated in ugly Week 16 loss to the Panthers

The Lions were badly beaten on both sides of the ball by the Panthers on Christmas Eve

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This is not what any Detroit Lions fan wanted for Christmas. The Lions laid a giant lump of coal on the frozen field of Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Christmas Eve, getting blown out, 37-23, by the host Carolina Panthers.

The first half was embarrassing. Detroit’s offense was out of sync, with QB Jared Goff staring down throws — Carolina’s defensive line swatted down three passes. The run game managed just 21 yards on 12 carries, with eight of those coming on WR Kalif Raymond’s early end-around. And the offense was the better of Detroit’s two units.

Carolina racked up 364 yards of total offense by halftime. The Panthers ran for the most yards of any team in any half all season across the NFL, gashing the Lions for 240 yards on 22 carries. Quarterback Sam Darnold, not noted for his mobility, ran for 21 yards and a touchdown. Many of the carries involved running backs hitting wide-open creases and with Lions LBs and DBs woefully out of position to make a play.

Detroit’s response with the first drive of the second half was a meek 3-and-out capped by left tackle Taylor Decker allowing his first sack in over a month. It was the third straight 3-and-out for the Lions offense. Carolina answered with a 74-yard touchdown drive on seven plays to make it 31-7.

Any lingering hope crashed and burned when Josh Reynolds couldn’t handle a 4th-and-goal pass with the Lions trailing 34-13 early in the fourth quarter. He was guilty (probably) of offensive pass interference on the play, so the drop was moot.

Carolina wound up setting a team record for rushing yards in a game with 321 yards on 42 carries before a final kneeldown. One week earlier against the Steelers, Carolina gained 21 yards on 16 carries.

About the only bright spot for Detroit was tight end Shane Zylstra catching three touchdown passes. The Lions finished 4-for-12 on third downs and ran for just 45 yards on offense while giving up 570 to the Panthers.

The 7-8 Lions still have playoff life but will need to win in Week 17 at home against the Chicago Bears and on the road in Green Bay in Week 18 and also get more help.

Texans S M.J. Stewart being evaluated for concussion against the Titans

Houston Texans safety M.J. Stewart is being evaluated for a concussion in Week 16 against the Tennessee Titans.

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The Houston Texans continue to take the hits to their personnel.

The Texans announced in the third quarter that safety M.J. Stewart is being evaluated for a concussion.

The Texans already had a player sustain a concussion against the Tennessee Titans in Week 16. In the first quarter, left guard Tytus Howard was in concussion protocol, was questionable to return, and was later ruled out in the third quarter.

Stewart did not log any defensive snaps by the time he was forced out of the game.

The Titans led the Texans 14-10 in the third quarter when the defensive back left the game.

Texans TE Teagan Quitoriano out against the Titans with knee injury

Houston Texans tight end Teagan Quitoriano is out against the Tennessee Titans in Week 16 with a knee injury.

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The Houston Texans are taking on water at their tight end position.

The Texans announced with 1:54 to go in the second quarter that rookie tight end Teagan Quitoriano was questionable to return against the Tennessee Titans in Week 16 with a knee injury.

Quitoriano has caught two touchdown passes in 2022. The fifth-rounder from Oregon State has done a decent job of making himself a red zone threat.

The other injury the Texans had in the first half was left guard Tytus Howard, who was placed in concussion protocol.

The Texans led the Titans 10-7 at the time Houston announced Quitoriano was questionable to return to the game.

In the third quarter, the Texans downgraded Quitoriano to out.