Texans 24, Titans 21
Texans take control of AFC South with grind-it-out win over the Titans
Dec 15, 2019, 3:04 pm
Getty Images
The Texans took control of the AFC South again with a big win in Tennessee. It wasn't pretty, but they made enough big plays on both sides of the ball to escape with a victory. Here is how it all played out:
Offense
Positives: The Texans took advantage of a huge Tennessee turnover for their first score. Deshaun Watson threw a perfect pass to Kenny Stills for the TD. Stills has been a really solid addition and added another touchdown later in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead. After blowing a 14-0 lead, they responded with a seven play, 75-yard drive to retake the lead and then get a key field goal. Carlos Hyde had a nice game running the football, with 104 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown. DeAndre Hopkins, held quiet most of the game, came alive in the fourth quarter with 98 yards and finished the game with six catches for 119.
Negatives: Watson's inability to protect the football at times almost cost them the game. And once again, they failed to score on their opening drive. It looked promising, but Watson was fooled by the defense and threw a pick in the end zone. They now have a total of 3 points on 14 opening drives this season. Watson threw another pick in the end zone in the third quarter on a terrible play call by Bill O'Brien and an even worse decision by Watson. It cost them at least three points. Fortunately it did not matter but that was potentially 14 points off the board. The first pick was a great play by the safety, who tricked Watson. The second was just a dumb play.
Defense
Positives: Justin Reid and Whitney Mercilus combined on a massive play to not only keep Tennessee out of the end zone, but set up the Texans first score. Reid knocked a pass loose at the Texans 2 yard line, it bounced into Mercilus' hands and he returned it 88 yards all the way to the Tennessee 12 (see photo above). It was a major play considering the Titans were moving the ball well on the drive and wound up being a 14-point swing. The defense was a different animal in the first half than what they were against Denver, as they held the Titans scoreless. They got a little lucky with a blocked field goal and the deflected interception, but they also sniffed out a fake punt on fourth down to kill another drive.
Negatives: As good as they looked in the first half, they got pushed around in the second as the Titans cut the lead to 14-7 on the opening drive then followed it up with another touchdown drive to tie the score. Throughout the game, the Texans got little pressure on Ryan Tannehill, a problem that has reared its head almost every week since J.J. Watt's injury. They did get a key sack with just over nine minutes in the fourth with a 21-14 lead that caused the Titans to have to punt and also picked one up on the last play of the game. Once again, their prevent defense was awful in the last three minutes, allowing the Titans to march down the field in just over a minute to cut the lead to 24-21. The Texans were able to recover the onside kick and run off most of the game clock, but the Texans have to do a better job in those situations. Fortunately it did not matter.
The bottom line
This was an important win for the Texans, and they got just enough plays on on both sides of the ball to escape with the victory. The Titans were playing very well coming in, so this is a good victory. Watson was solid at times, but also had the two bad turnovers. He was fortunate they did not cost them the game.
Tennessee outplayed the Texans for much of the game, outgaining Houston by almost 60 yards. But the Mercilus play wound up being the difference. That and Watson bouncing back with the huge scoring drive after throwing his second pick and seeing the Titans tie the score.
As they have done in the past, the Texans bounced back from the abysmal Denver loss to get a key victory. They now sit at 9-5, and need to win only one of their two remaining games (at Tampa next week or Tennessee at home in week 17) to clinch the AFC South.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Texans HC DeMeco Ryans reveals what he values most at scouting combine
Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo 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!