NOT ENOUGH
Texans give effort, but fall short in 24-13 loss to Titans to fall to 4-8
Dec 3, 2017, 3:28 pm
Tom Savage had his best game but it was not enough. Houstontexans.com
The Texans hit the road in week 13 to face the Tennessee Titans in an important AFC South Division game. It's not so important for the Texans who needed to win 4 of their last 5 games to have an outside shot at the playoffs, but the Titans were 7-4 and tied for the division lead. They had to keep pace with Jacksonville ,who won again today. And they did, killing the Texans' faint playoff hopes with a 24-13 win.
The Titans are now 8-4, while the Texans are 4-8.
It wasn't going to be easy though, Jadeveon Clowney and the Texans defense were prepared to make a stand with their offense struggling to help them since Tom Savage took over, having only won one game in their last four. But the passing offense played decently today, especially with a lot of injuries. DeAndre Hopkins and Stephen Miller picked up a the slack when injuries mounted. Hopkins caught 8 for 80 yards and Miller caught 5 for 70 and the Texans only touchdown.
Despite a bad first drive of the game by the Texans that went 3-and-out after 5 yards, it was an uncharacteristic good play by their special teams that got them the ball back. Titans punt returner Adoree Jackson fumbled the ball after a 25-yard return and Alfred Blue recovered it for the turnover. The Texans went 36 yards but stalled inside the 10-yard line and Ka'imi Fairbairn kicked a 23-yard field goal to put the Texans up 3-0 early in the 1st quarter.
The Titans came right back but didn't get the same result. An 8-play 53-yard drive by them ended with a missed field goal by Ryan Succop. Their defense would force another 3-and-out and they would get another drive going, but another punt put the ball back into Tom Savage's hand.
After starting from their own 13-yard line, the Texans ran two plays and were at the 40-yard line. The first big play of the game was Savage finding a wide-open Braxton Miller for a 57-yard catch and run down to the Titans 3 yard line. A great catch by Stephen Anderson on a low thrown ball and the Texans were now leading 10-0 in the 2nd quarter.
Not to be outdone, Marcus Mariota led the Titans down the field 75 yards in 10 plays, getting the Titans on the board and cutting the deficit to 3 points with a 9-yard touchdown run. Texans still led 10-7 at that point.
A little over four minutes remained on the clock before halftime and the Texans knew they needed to get something going to extend their lead before the break. Savage led a good 12-play drive but a bad sack on 3rd down halted the drive at the Tennessee 30-yard line. An up and down kicker the last few weeks; Fairbairn missed the 48-yarder and now Mariota and the Titans offense would have the ball on their own 38-yard line. In 4 plays they would get into field goal range and with 8 seconds left before halftime they would tie the game at 10 on a 43-yarder from Succop.
The Texans offense seemed to be able to move the ball well through the air when they needed, and their first drive of the second half could have been a good answer to the Titans. They ran 16 plays and used up 8 minutes of clock time. But they still have to learn to finish their drives. After stalling again near the goal line, Fairbairn missed his second field goal of the game and that great effort was for naught and it remained a tie game, 10-10.
The Titans made them pay on the very next drive. From his own 20-yard line Mariota went 3 for 5 for 55 yards through the air while they gained another 25 yards on the ground. After a 3rd down play had the spot overturned upon further review they went for it on 4th-and-1 from the Houston 27-yard line. A 3-yard run by Derrick Henry gave them a 1st down and the next play was a 24-yard touchdown pass to Delanie Walker for the Titans first lead of the game, 17-10.
Punts were traded and the Texans got the ball with 11:31 on the clock in the 4th quarter. in 7 minutes they ran 12 plays down to the Tennessee 24-yard line. Fairbairn would put the Texans closer with a 42-yard field goal making him 2 for 4 on the day. But now only 4 and a half minutes were left and the Texans were still down 17-13.
Zach Cunningham made sure the defense held and only about 2 minutes came off the clock putting Tom Savage and Bill O'Brien in position to win the game in the final minutes.
It didn't look good though. Facing a 4th and 4 from the Tennessee 36-yard line the Texans got three consecutive false start penalties from left tackle Jeff Allen to stare down the barrel of 4th and 19. For the second time today Savage found Stephen Anderson on a great catch. This one went for 22 yards and a first down. And then, as if he just has an uncontrollable urge to do so, Savage threw an interception in the end zone to Titans cornerback LeShaun Sims to end the drive and all hope of winning the game.
Derrick Henry would put the game out of reach 3 plays later when he ran for a 75-yard touchdown making it 24-13 Tennessee.
This game could have been a lot different. The Texans were able to move the ball well outside of the red zone but two missed field goals, only one touchdown on three trips inside the 10-yard line, and a bad interception under 2 minutes left in the game just won't get it done. The Titans only turned the ball over once and it was so early in the game it had little effect on the final.
If the coaches and leadership of the Texans can't see that Savage is the sole reason they are losing then there is no chance they turn this franchise into a winner any time soon. With the game on the line and a chance to take the lead in the final 2 minutes, Savage ruined everything good he had done before that.
He led the offense well today going 31 of 49 for 365 yards and a touchdown when the rushing game could only muster 53 yards. It looked like missed field goals would be to blame for the situation, but Savage went out and did what he does best. He now has 13 turnovers by himself this season and he has only played in six games.
The Texans will face a beatable 49ers team at home next week but that's no lock. Jimmy Garoppolo led them to their second win of the season in his first start. He just might be able to beat a team that has a turnover machine at quarterback.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
How Astros advanced metrics tell puzzling story about Houston's start
Apr 17, 2025, 5:21 pm
Major League Baseball’s regular season is 162 games long. You can think of 18 games as the first inning of the season, 18 times nine equaling 162. While the Astros 8-10 record is not good, it’s far from disastrous. Think of it as them being behind 1-0 after the first inning. It is pretty remarkable that they have yet to win consecutive games. Even during last year’s 7-19 stink bomb of a start the Astros twice managed to win two in a row.
The Astros’ offensive woes are plentiful. Oddly enough as impotent as they’ve been, the Astros have yet to be shutout. But in half their games they have scored exactly one or two runs. Basically, most of them stink thus far. Exemptions go to Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes, but it’s not like either of them has been outstanding. It’s still early enough that one big series can dramatically alter the numbers, but the Astros badly need Yordan Alvarez to pick up his production. Yordan enters the weekend batting just .224 with a .695 OPS and just four extra base hits. Yainer rhymes with minor. As in minor leagues, where Diaz belongs at his current level of performance. That is not saying Diaz should be sent down, just that any random AAA catcher called up couldn’t have done much worse to this point. Diaz isn’t hitting Altuve’s weight, a woeful .130 with seven hits in 57 at bats. Diaz simply remains too undisciplined at the plate swinging at too many balls. He’s drawn three walks. And now to Christian Walker, who thus far has delivered return on investment for his three year 60 million dollar contract about as strong as the stock market’s performance in Tariff Time. Walker’s .154 batting average and .482 OPS are very Astro Jose Abreu-like. Walker’s23 strikeouts in 65 at bats jump off the page. He has often looked befuddled in the batter's box. Walker is definitely pressing and frustrated, wanting to perform better for his new team. Jeremy Pena goes into the weekend batting .215 and has one hit in 13 at bats with runners in scoring position. Brendan Rodgers, Jake Meyers, and Chas McCormick all have weak stat lines, with little reason to expect quality offensive output from any of them. Cam Smith is at .200 with a yucky .591 OPS but he’s obviously a young stud work in progress thrown into the deep end of the pool.
All batting orders are top-heavy, the Astros’ on paper more so than many. As I set forth on one of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts this week, the first inning should be a team’s best offensive inning. It’s the only frame in which a team gets to dictate who comes up from the start with the batters lined up just as the manager slots them. Add to that, the first inning is a good time to get to a starting pitcher before he settles in. The Astros have scored a pitiful three first inning runs in 18 games, and in two of the games they pushed one across in the first, it turned out to be the only Astro run of the game. Improvement needs to come internally from the big league roster. It’s not as if the Astros have a meaningful prospect at AAA Sugar Land who looks ready to help. Entering play Thursday the Space Cowboys’ team average was .186. Second base hopeful Brice Matthews is nowhere close, batting .180 and striking out left and right. Outfielder Jacob Melton opened three for 17 following the back injury-delayed start to his season.
As exasperating and boring as the offense has been for so many, grading needs to occur on a curve. So, while the Astros’ team batting average is a joke at .216, know that at close of business Wednesday the entire American League was batting just .232. The American League West-leading Texas Rangers scored eight fewer runs over their first 18 games than did the Astros, though that is skewed by the Astros’ one 14-run outburst against the Angels.
Familiar faces return
This weekend the Astros play host to the San Diego Padres at Daikin Park. The Friars are off to a fabulous start at 15-4. The Padres being here creates a mini reunion as both Martin Maldonado and Yuli Gurriel are on their roster. In a telling fact, Maldonado would have the third-highest batting average on the Astros if on the team with his current numbers. Maldonado is hitting .250 with seven hits in 28 at bats. The last season he finished above .200 was 2020. The only season in his career Maldonado topped .234 was his rookie season with a .266 mark in 2012.
Gurriel was last good in 2021 when he won the American League batting title at .319. He fell off a cliff from there, though perked up to have a fine postseason in the Astros’ 2022 run to World Series title number two. “La Pina” is batting .115 with just three hits in 26 at bats. Gurriel may be released soon, and approaching his 41st birthday June 9, that would probably be the end of the line. Short-timer Astro Jason Heyward is also on the Padres, and batting .190.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
_____________________________________________
*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!