GAME PREVIEW
Critical matchups and injuries to monitor in Texans' regular season finale in Nashville
Jan 3, 2025, 12:34 pm
Health should be the Texans' top priority this Sunday. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
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.
The Houston Astros wrapped up yet another series win this week, this time taking two of three from the struggling Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Despite missing several key players and a bullpen that wasn’t fully available, the Astros continued their recent run of success, pushing their record to 52-35.
Manager Joe Espada appeared to be playing the long game in the rubber match on Thursday. After Houston rallied to tie the game in the seventh inning, Espada stuck with reliever Jordan Weems instead of turning to his high-leverage arms. That decision, while frustrating to some fans hoping for the sweep, underscored the team’s cautious approach to workload management as they navigate a long season.
One bright spot continues to be rookie Cam Smith, who delivered again in the clutch with a two-run triple in the seventh inning on Thursday. Smith has been Houston’s most dependable bat with runners on base and is quickly settling into the cleanup role—a rarity for a first-year player but one he’s earned with his poise and production.
Astros cleanup hitter RBIs this season:
Cam Smith: 10 RBIs in 7 games
All others: 28 RBIs in 80 games
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) July 3, 2025
Off the field, the biggest storyline continues to be Yordan Alvarez’s injury. After reports surfaced that the slugger had experienced a setback in his return from a fractured hand, the team clarified that the issue is inflammation, not the fracture itself. Astros general manager Dana Brown said Alvarez received injections to address the irritation and is expected to rest for now. Encouragingly, the Astros say the fracture is no longer a concern, and while there’s still no definitive timeline for his return, the overall tone from the club was optimistic.
The transparency around Alvarez’s situation is part of a larger shift. After being criticized in recent seasons for vague injury updates, the Astros have begun issuing daily availability reports. It’s a move that signals the front office is trying to regain some trust with the media and fans after a stretch of frustrating ambiguity around player health.
Now, the Astros head to Los Angeles for a marquee matchup with the defending champion Dodgers. Friday’s opener will feature Lance McCullers Jr. making just his second start since returning from the injured list. McCullers gave up eight runs in his return against the Cubs and will be under the spotlight as he looks to settle back into form. Control will be the key, as walks have long been McCullers’ Achilles’ heel.
Saturday sets the stage for one of the most anticipated pitching matchups of the season: Framber Valdez versus Shohei Ohtani. With both teams fighting for positioning in their respective divisions, this weekend in LA should serve as a measuring stick—and perhaps a postseason preview.
There's so much more to get to! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
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