The Houston Texans defense didn’t have the statistically dominant performance that they usually have had against the Tennessee Titans, but they did everything that was necessary when called upon in the 24-21 win Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium.
While the Titans out-gained the Texans 432 to 374 and also produced 75% red zone efficiency, the defense held Tennessee to 4-of-10 on third downs and 1-of-2 on fourth downs along with intercepting quarterback Ryan Tannehill once. The special teams also added a blocked field goal for good measure.
With all of that as a preamble, here are the grades.
defensive line
The defensive line may have allowed running back Derrick Henry to have a productive game with 21 carries for 86 yards, and also sacked Ryan Tannehill just once on their own as rookie defensive end Charles Omenihu dropped the quarterback on the game’s penultimate play. However, they didn’t complete buckle to the Titans’ offense. The defensive line held forth and didn’t allow the Titans to fully establish their will along the line of scrimmage. Defensive end Carlos Watkins and defensive tackle D.J. Reader led the group with four tackles apiece. Reader had a quarterback hit, as did nose tackle Brandon Dunn.