Tag: Tennessee Titans 2024

Top Photos from Texans Week 18 dominant win over Titans

Here are some of the top photos from Week 18’s battle between the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans.

The Houston Texans capped off their 2024 season with a 23-14 win on the road over the Tennessee Titans.

Behind a 176-yard performance from running back Dameon Pierce, the Texans secured a 10-win campaign for the second time under DeMeco Ryans. Both running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Nico Collins surpassed the 1,000-yard marker in rushing and receiving, respectively.

Here’s some of the top photos from Sunday’s showdown at Nissan Stadium.

Texans-Titans Week 18: Offense, defense and special teams snap counts

The Houston Texans secured a 10-win season on the final day of the regular season against the Tennessee Titans. Here’s the snap count.

Joe Mixon and Nico Collins entered the Houston Texans‘ history books.

It only took a drive for the duo to accomplish the feat before DeMeco Ryans elected to rest his offensive starters.

Mixon, the bell cow of the Texans’ ground game, became the sixth running back in franchise history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. He became the first runner since Carlos Hyde in 2019 to accomplish the feat as the Texans coasted past the Tennesee Titans, 23-14.

“When you start clicking at the right time, you just want to keep seeing this,” Mixon said, using his hand to indicate a rising motion. “Keep trending upward. And pretty much we came out there and executed the game plan.”

The Texans (10-7) looked dead on arrival heading into the postseason. They had just come off perhaps the most embarrassing loss of DeMeco Ryans’ era with Queen Bey in the house.

Players said that this wasn’t Texans’ football, but most fans had seen enough regression during the regular season to call it a lie.

Maybe it was the competition or perhaps the frigid weather that gave the offense a spark, but Houston was playing loose.

It was having fun with backups like Dameon Pierce and Derek Barnett making must-see play in the second and fourth quarters, respectively.

“We enjoy being around one another,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “This year has been a lot of ups and downs. We’ve always stuck together. Every obstacle we face we always meshed well more.”

Win or lose, Houston was always locked into the No. 4 seed. They’ll host the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday afternoon with a chance to be the first team to punch their ticket to the AFC Divisional Round.
The Texans needed a win for morale over the record, but 10 victories sure sounds better than nine.
Here are the snap counts from both teams.

Offensive Snaps: 60

Defensive Snaps: 62

Special Teams Snaps: 23

Kickoff from NRG Stadium against Los Angeles is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on CBS.

Houston Texans schedule: Are the Texans playing today? 

Are the Texans playing today? Here’s a look at the schedule entering Week 18.

The Houston Texans will take the field Sunday afternoon with a chance to close out the regular season at 10-7 with a win over the Tennessee Titans.

Houston currently sits at 4-1 in the AFC South entering Week 18. With a win, the Texans would post back-to-back double-digit winning campaigns for the first time since 2019.

While the Texans have already clinched the division, they’re still waiting for the outcome of Week 18’s matchup to figure out who they’ll host in the wild-card round next weekend. The Pittsburgh Steelers remain the favorites, but Houston could also host the Los Angeles Chargers based on Sunday’s outcome.

With the Chargers’ loss, the Steelers would clinch the No. 5 seed following their 19-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday evening.

Should all three division winners secure a victory in the wild-card round, Houston would hit the road to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round.

Houston Texans 2024 schedule

  • Week 1: at Indianapolis (W, 29-27)
  • Week 2: vs. Chicago (W, 19-13)
  • Week 3: at Minnesota (L, 34-7)
  • Week 4: vs. Jacksonville (W, 24-20)
  • Week 5: vs. Buffalo (W, 23-20)
  • Week 6: at New England (W, 41-21)
  • Week 7: at Green Bay (L, 24-22)
  • Week 8: vs. Indianapolis (W, 23-20)
  • Week 9: at New York Jets (L, 21-13)
  • Week 10: vs. Detroit (L, 26-23)
  • Week 11: at Dallas (W, 34-10)
  • Week 12: vs. Tennessee (L, 32-27)
  • Week 13: at Jacksonville (W, 23-20)
  • Week 14: Bye
  • Week 15: vs. Miami (W, 20-12)
  • Week 16: at Kansas City (L, 27-19)
  • Week 17: vs. Baltimore (W,31-2)
  • Week 18: at Tennessee
  • Record: 9-7

Is Nico Collins playing Sunday? Latest updates for Texans WR

Nico Collins will see action on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

The Houston Texans are at a crossroads entering Week 18 of the regular season.

Starters are expected to play against the Tennessee Titans, but the question is for how long? Texans coach DeMeco Ryans initially didn’t plan on playing starters, but after an abysmal outing against the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day, plans changed.

“For us right now, we’ve got to go play better,” Ryans said. “Our last outing on the field was not good enough. It was not representative of who we are. Defensively, offensively, just not a good representation of our team entirely. So we’ve got to go out and play better football.”

Among those who could miss the second half is wide receiver Nico Collins. Houston’s lead receiver is on the verge of making history after securing his place in the Pro Bowl, but the Texans are looking to win.

Collins also wants to end the season on a high note after failing to find the end zone against Baltimore on Christmas Day.

“I love football,”  Collins told reporters earlier this week. “I’m trying to play. I know you’ve got to take care of your players, want them to sit out and stuff. But I feel like if you love the game of football, you’re willing to do whatever. And I love it, so I’m trying to play. I ain’t trying to sit out.”

Nico Collins update

Collins will play on Sunday at Nissan Stadium. Should the Texans pull out to a significant lead, Ryans could elect to rest him for next week’s wild-card round.

After signing a three-year extension this offseason, Collins has been the go-to weapon of the offense. He’s only 31 yards shy of becoming the first wide receiver since Brandin Cooks in 2021 to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in a Texans’ uniform.

Collins would also join Hall of Fame receiver Andre Johnson and All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins as one of four players to accomplish a feat in a Texans’ uniform.

Nico Collins stats

After starting the season hot with 567 yards in five games, Collins was placed on the injured reserve for six weeks with a hamstring injury. He’s come back strong since Week 12, totaling 32 catches for three touchdowns.

Entering Week 18, Collins has notched 63 passes for 968 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 15.4 yards per catch.

Texans WR depth chart

With Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell on the season-ending injured reserve, the Texans picked up former Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Bowler Diontae Johnson off waivers. Johnson, who was traded to the Baltimore Ravens from the Carolina Panthers, only spent five games with the AFC North franchise before being released.

He’s expected to play on Sunday and teammates seem excited to watch him work.

“Diontae Johnson, he’s gonna look real good out there for us,” running back Joe Mixon said. “Incorporating him into the offense, I think that was major. I’ve played against him for years. I’ve obviously respected him as a football player. For him to come in and us be able to uplift him, because he was struggling this year going from place to place and figuring out where he stands.”

Behind Johnson and Collins are Robert Woods, John Metchie III, and Xavier Hutchinson.

Titans add more fuel to fire with unfiorm selection for matchup with Texans

The Tennessee Titans are adding a bit more fuel to the fire when taking on the Houston Texans.

Oh look, it’s Tennessee finding a way to live in the past against the City of Houston again.

Maybe the Titans wish it was at least 2021 to see what winning looks like for the first time in years.

To no one’s surprise, the Titans will close out their season by wearing their Houston Oilers’ Luv Ya Blue jerseys against the Houston Texans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium. The last-place AFC South team wore those jerseys last season when the Texans visited Nashville before Christmas.

The hope is Houston (9-7) can pull out another victory while the once-Oilers franchise suffers once more, though most Texans fans probably wish to avoid overtime.

When then-Oilers owner Bud Adams moved the franchise from Houston to Memphis in 1997, he took all of the franchise’s history with him, including the logo, uniforms, and record books. The branding changed in 1999 from Oilers to Titans when the team officially called Nashville home, but Adams retained the rights to everything associated with the Oilers branding.

Since the Texans were founded in 2002, the city has tried to incorporate some bit of homage to the “H-Town Blue” in their uniform scheme, though Amy Adams-Strunk has a firm clasp on how the color can be used.

Most recently, Houston rebranded with a different shade off of “Columbia Blue” in the new “H-Town” uniform, capped off with a Blue H on the helmet.

While Texans players hate seeing a team don a uniform that doesn’t have anything to do with the state of Tennessee, Titans players understand how much the jersey means to Adams Strunk and a win over Houston.

“I think the real message behind it is (former Oilers players) didn’t feel like they had a home,” defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons told reporters on Wednesday. “Especially since the uniforms started in Houston and came here now with the Tennessee Titans. So it’s like, ‘Where do we have a home at?’ So with us wearing those uniforms, it means a lot and I know it means a lot to our former players who played in those uniforms.”

Simmons also knows the Texans would love nothing more than to send the Titans a loss while donning the Oiler logo.

“It’s our job not to get embarrassed in those uniforms,” Simmons said. “I’m sure that the Texans would love to embarrass us in that uniform, especially with what we did earlier this year to them.”

Texans vs. Titans injury report: Latest updates, news for Wednesday

Here’s the injury report from Wednesday as the Houston Texans prepare to take on the Tennessee Titans in the season finale.

Here are the full injury reports from Wednesday’s practice for the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans ahead of their matchup at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.

Houston Texans (9-7)

DID NOT PRACTICE

Texans vs. Titans Week 18 kickoff time revealed

Here’s what time the Houston Texans kickoff against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Week 18.

The Houston Texans can’t clinch the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs, but they can clinch a second 10-win season under DeMeco Ryans and C.J. Stroud. 

Everything comes down to a Week 18 showdown against the Tennessee Titans. Now, they know what time they’ll play.

Kickoff from Nissan Stadium is scheduled for noon CT between the two AFC South opponents. The game will be locally televised on CBS.

More than bragging rights are on the line for either side following Week 17’s chaos as one team looks to secure a higher draft pick while the other one looks to bolster its overall record.

With a Texans’ win, the Titans would guarantee a top-three selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. Tennessee is coming off a 20-13 loss to the Jaguars, dropping the roster to 3-13.

With the New York Giants’ upset win Sunday, the Titans go into their final game in possession of the No. 2 pick, falling behind only the 3-13 New England Patriots. The Patriots, who play the Buffalo Bills in Week 18, have already clinched a top-two draft selection and could be in line for the No.  1 overall pick.

Bufalo’s also clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and could rest starters.

Since Houston can’t clinch a higher seed, there’s little incentive to play starters. However, Houston wants to secure a double-digit win campaign to better their record.

“We still have a lot of hope,” Stroud said following Wednesday’s 31-2 loss against the Baltimore Ravens. “At the end of the day we clinched our division. We still have an opportunity to go in the playoffs. Got to finish this year the right way against Tennessee, and hopefully by that time we’re in a groove and rolling when the playoffs come.”

The Texans will host a wild-card round game in the AFC Playoffs in two weeks. As the No. 4 seed, Houston will face off against the highest-ranked wild-card team.