Will the Texans get Diontae Johnson involved in the offense? Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images.
Houston coach DeMeco Ryans is balancing the need to keep his Texans healthy for their AFC wild-card playoff game against the desire to knock off rust after a long break leading into Sunday's regular-season finale.
A little good mojo certainly would help going into the postseason. The Texans also have lost two straight since clinching a second straight AFC South title.
Houston (9-7) is in the midst of an 11-day break since being embarrassed 31-2 by Baltimore on Christmas Day. Beating the Tennessee Titans on Sunday would help the Texans work on some issues before they host a wild-card game as the No. 4 seed. Ryans says he’s planning to play his starters, though he wouldn't say for how long.
“We’ll see how the game goes,” Ryans said.
The Titans (3-13) are on the opposite end of the spectrum. Playoff hopes officially ended Dec. 8 with a loss to Jacksonville, and Tennessee has lost five straight. The Titans currently are set to receive the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft next April. A loss combined with a win by New England over Buffalo would put Tennessee at No. 1 overall for the first time since 2016.
First-year coach Brian Callahan is busy trying to help his team improve and hasn't thought about the idea of a lottery keeping NFL teams from tanking for better draft spots. He called it an interesting question that would be better addressed in the offseason. Two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said his job is trying to win games.
“I’m not going out there with a lose mentality for the draft,” Simmons said. “That’s out of my control and what we do and who we go get in the draft.”
Musical quarterbacks
The Titans benched second-year quarterback Will Levis after his four turnovers led to 24 points in a loss to Cincinnati on Dec. 15. Veteran Mason Rudolph started the last two games, yet he couldn't help Tennessee snap a skid that is now seven of eight, including a 20-13 loss last week in Jacksonville.
The lone win? Levis started a 33-27 victory on Nov. 24 at Houston, which gives the Titans at least the chance to sweep the Texans. Combined with how Levis has handled himself since being pulled, he earned another chance to play in what might be his 12th start and last chance to stop turning the ball over before Tennessee decides this offseason what to do at quarterback. Callahan plans to announce his starter late this week.
Levis is just happy for another chance and for his last pass at Nissan Stadium not to be a pick-6.
“All I'm trying to do is play quarterback the best that I can, and it's a good opportunity to try to end the season on a good note," Levis said.
New face
Receiver Diontae Johnson is expected to make his debut for Houston Sunday after being picked up last week following his release by the Ravens. The Texans needed depth at the position after Tank Dell followed Stefon Diggs to the injured list with his season-ending knee injury on Dec. 21.
Johnson played four games for Baltimore after a trade from Carolina before being suspended for refusing to enter a game and then being released on Dec. 20. He has 4,726 yards receiving in a six-year career that started in Pittsburgh. Ryans isn’t worried about his history.
“As I mentioned to him, of course it’s a clean slate starting with me,” he said. “It really doesn’t matter what has happened in the past or what the narrative is about you. You come here and everything is a fresh start and so we’ll see how he can help us, what he can add to our team on the field and off the field.”
Oilers throwbacks
The Titans have planned all season to wear their Oilers throwback uniforms Sunday against the team that replaced them in Houston. The throwbacks feature the light blue and red that the Texans have incorporated into their color scheme with Houston fans unhappy that the late Bud Adams took everything connected to the Oilers and their history with him to Tennessee in 1997.
Simmons can’t wait to play in the throwbacks and wants to represent the former players who wore those uniforms for the franchise. He also knows the Texans would love nothing more than to hand the Titans a loss while wearing those uniforms.
“It’s been a bumpy season and being able to close this year out in them uniforms I think, you know, it’ll be a better way to go out,” Simmons said.
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Jan 3, 2025, 12:44 pm
Houston (9-7) at Tennessee (3-13)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS
BetMGM NFL Odds: Titans by 1.
Against the spread: Texans 6-8-2; Titans 2-14.
Series record: Tennessee leads 24-21.
Last meeting: Titans beat the Texans 32-27 on Nov. 24.
Last week: Texans lost to the Ravens 31-2; Titans lost to the Jaguars 20-13.
Texans offense: overall (21), rush (21), pass (19), scoring (18)
Texans defense: overall (7), rush (12), pass (6), scoring (16)
Titans offense: overall (28), rush (15), pass (28), scoring (T-25)
Titans defense: overall (2), rush (22), pass (6), scoring (30)
Turnover differential: Texans plus-10; Titans minus-16
Texans player
to watch
QB C.J. Stroud needs 323 yards passing to join Justin Herbert and Jameis Winston as the only players in NFL history to have at least 4,000 yards passing in each of their first two seasons. He has thrown for at least 240 yards in three straight road games. Stroud had 247 yards passing and two touchdowns in his previous meeting against Tennessee and hasn’t thrown an interception in nine of his 10 career starts against division opponents.
Titans player to watch
QB Will Levis. Benched after his fourth turnover of the game against Cincinnati on Dec. 15, the second-year quarterback stayed there for the next two games. Now he’s splitting work with Mason Rudolph in a final chance to show how much he’s learned before the offseason. Levis had no interceptions in the two games he started before his four-turnover game against Cincinnati that got him benched.
Key matchup
The Titans against their draft status. Losing clinches the No. 2 pick overall in the April draft to match the slot where they took QB Marcus Mariota in 2015. Lose and get help with New England beating Buffalo's backups? Tennessee then has the No. 1 overall pick for the first time since 2016. A new GM traded that pick two weeks before the draft for a haul that netted a trio of All-Pros led by Derrick Henry.
Key injuries
Texans: CB Kamari Lassiter got in a limited practice on Thursday. … C/G Juice Scruggs returned to practice in a limited capacity and could return after missing four games with a foot injury. … CB Jeff Okudah was limited in practice Wednesday, but missed practice on Thursday after sustaining a concussion against the Ravens.
Titans: RB Tony Pollard (ankle) missed last week's game with an illness. He is close to some contract incentives and was limited Wednesday in a walk-through. RB Tyjae Spears likely will have a difficult time clearing the concussion protocol after being knocked out of last week's game. ... K Nick Folk (abdomen) has missed two straight games. ... RG Dillon Radunz (shoulder) might be back after missing two games.
Series notes
The Texans have won three of the past four. But the Titans have won six of the past 10. Houston managed to sweep the 2023 season series between the division rivals, and eight of the past nine have been decided by nine or fewer points.
Stats and stuff
The Texans have clinched the AFC South for a second straight season. ... RB Joe Mixon has 883 yards of offense and 10 touchdowns in seven road games this season. He needs 7 yards rushing for his fifth career 1,000-yard rushing season. … WR Nico Collins had 92 yards receiving and a TD in the previous game against Tennessee. He needs 32 yards receiving to reach 1,000 yards for a second straight season. … WR John Metchie had five receptions for 48 yards last week. … TE Dalton Schultz has had a TD reception in two straight road games. … LB Azeez Al-Shaair returns after a three-game suspension for his violent hit to Trevor Lawrence's head that gave the Jacksonville quarterback a concussion. … DE Danielle Hunter had a career-high five tackles for loss and three sacks in the previous game against the Titans. He ranks third in the NFL with 12 sacks for his fifth career season with at least 12 sacks. … DE Will Anderson had two tackles for loss last week. He is tied for eighth in the NFL with 11 sacks this season. … CB Derek Stingley has an interception in two of his past three road games. He ranks second in the NFL with a career-high 18 passes defended this season. … Rookie CB Kamari Lassiter tackled Derrick Henry in the end zone for a safety for Houston's only points last week. ... This game wraps up the Titans' 65th season in franchise history and their 26th at Nissan Stadium. This also will be the franchise's 1,000th game in the regular season. ... The Titans have a chance to finish in the top five in the league in passing defense for the first time since 2000 when they led the NFL. They also rank third in total defense. The Titans last finished in the top five in total defense for a season in 2007 when they ranked fifth. ... S Amani Hooker already has a career-high five interceptions. With one more, he would have the Titans' first six-interception season since 2017 when Kevin Byard had eight. ... LT JC Latham can start Sunday and become the first rookie offensive lineman to start every game his first season since Jack Conklin in 2016. He would become the fourth since the team took the Titans' nickname for the 1999 season, joining Conklin, Chance Warmack (2013) and Michael Roos (2005). ... WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has nine TD catches, tied for ninth most in the NFL despite not catching a pass through the first month of the season. ... Chig Okonkwo has 22 catches in the past three games combined, tying Delanie Walker's three-game stretch in 2015 for the most catches by a tight end for the franchise since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.
Fantasy tip
WR Calvin Ridley leads the Titans with 61 catches for 941 yards. He's 59 yards from a second straight 1,000-yard receiving season and the third of his career.