These are happier times at least for the time being. Even our model for this particular piece changes as we slide over to great, good, and bad in lieu of good, bad, and ugly. The Texans defeated the Titans 26-3 in a game that felt competitive for all of one quarter. Furthermore, you were 7.5 point favorites on the road which is practically a double digit line for an 0-4 football team. That probably tells you everything you need to know about the Tennessee Titans. They will be in a race with the Miami
Dolphins for the first overall pick. So, this win feels good in the same way you feel good when you pass a first grade spelling test. You feel more relieved.
At any rate, it was an infamous get right game in a lot of respects and that is particularly true on the defensive end. They generated multiple times for the first time on the season and also managed four sacks on the afternoon. It will help the bottom line as the aggregate now says that the Texans are a solid defense. Obviously, two of their games would say otherwise, but let’s take a look at the numbers from the game.
The Key Numbers
Total Yards: Texans 63/328, Titans 58/187
Rushing Yards: Texans 27/79, Titans 18/57
Passing Yards: Texans 36/249, Titans 40/130
Third Downs: Texans 6/12, Titans 4/11
Fourth Downs: Texans 0/0, Titans 0/2
Sacks: Texans 4, Titans 2
Turnovers: Texans 0, Titans 2
Penalties: Texans 11/95, Titans 7/83
Time of Possession: Texans 34:29, Titans 25:31
Of course, we will get into this in more detail throughout the week as the biggest news occurred away from the field on Sunday. This is the kind of game we could have predicted from the Texans. The Titans just aren’t good at football. They haven’t been good at football since they let Mike Vrabel walk for reasons. They are likely fighting for the number one overall pick with the Miami Dolphins. So, you do nothing but hold serve in this one.
The Great
Will Anderson is good at football. I’ve said that three weeks in a row now. He added three sacks in this one and he is making his quest to be the Defensive Player of the Year. He probably will have to put up a few more games like today to get into that conversation, but he is at the point where he is stacking great efforts back to back. Cam Ward wiggled out of three or four sacks on the afternoon or this could have been a historic effort from a defense we thought would be historic coming into the season.
Yes, DeMeco Ryans was calling plays this time around, but we need to hold off before anointing this defense as back. This was a historically bad offense on the other side of the field. Still, they did what they were supposed to do. They smothered a weaker opponent and never let them get hope outside of an opening field goal. Those guys are paid to play football too, so you can’t simply just show up and have it happen. These guys clearly put in some work and it could be the first building block to getting back into the season.
The Good
C.J. Stroud now has his own section, so this one goes to Woody Marks. The numbers show he caught four balls for 23 yards and rushed 15 times for 62 yards. More importantly, it looks like he might be taking over as the featured back after David Montgomery’s groin injury. Sometimes, performance dictates a change and sometimes fate knocks you across the dome and you are forced to make a change. Four yards a carry won’t make anyone forget Arian Foster, but it is credible and credible is that the Texans are hoping for. You can acquire all of the wide receivers in the world, but if you don’t have a credible running game it really doesn’t matter.
The Bad
Nothing can be truly ugly in a 26-3 game, but we focus on things in victory we wouldn’t overlook in defeat. This team commits too many stupid penalties. One of them cost you a Woody Marks touchdown. These are things that slide by in a 26-3 win over a terrible football team. They don’t slide by when you are facing a team like the Glitter Kitties. It would be one thing if this were a one time thing, but this is a weekly occurrence. It is safe to say it has cost you at least one football game if not two. We would feel far differently at 2-3 or 3-2 than we currently do at 1-4.
Focus on Stroud
The stat sheet will say that Stroud was 26 for 34 with a 107.5 quarterback rating. That obviously raises both the completion percentage for the season but also the overall quarterback rating for the season. More importantly, this game was a sign that the team is slowly turning over the keys to the kingdom to Stroud. Naturally, that might not be a complete vote of confidence. It could be the total lack of a consistent running game, but adding a Marvin Harrison Jr. doubles down on that thought as they try to give him as many weapons (and one he is familiar with) as they possibly can.
That tells me two things. First, they definitely have made up their mind about the future of the quarterback position as not only has he played well, but they are giving him more and more responsibility for this offense. Secondly, they brought in a familiar target because they want him to be happy. That recognizes that he had reason not to be.David Mulaghetta is not above shopping for new homes for his clients. A 2-15 or 3-14 season could have made Stroud and company think twice about committing to the Texans. Now, they see that they went out and got a buddy. Will that work? It remains to be seen, but it is a clear signal of where this offense is going.
