On paper, it appears the Tennessee Titans have a winnable game versus the Houston Texans in Week 5. Both AFC South teams are 0-4. Despite that, the Texans are considered heavy favorites despite the showdown being contested at Nissan Stadium.
Both organizations found themselves in familiar territory last season. They entered their first matchup (Week 4) sharing 0-3 records. This was the first game then-Titans HC Brian Callahan lost play-calling duties. The Texans enjoyed a dominant 26-0 win. Hopefully
Sunday doesn’t repeat that result.
That victory jumpstarted a Texans turnaround. They finished 12-5 and qualified for the playoffs. The Texans hope this is another get-right game versus the Titans.
The Texans lost two high-scoring affairs with the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. They were disappointing in losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts. It’s worth noting star receiver Nico Collins missed the Bengals and Colts games. They are averaging 30 PPG with Collins in the lineup.
The Texans lost two shootouts with the high-octane Bills and Cowboys. The Bengals are another postseason contender. They’ve faced a pretty tough schedule so far. The Titans are unfortunately nowhere near as difficult of a matchup on paper.
The Texans have had a surprising amount of issues on defense. Head coach DeMeco Ryans recently announced he’s taking defensive play-calling duties back from coordinator Matt Burke. That’s probably bad news for this Titans offense. Nobody knows the Texans defense better than Coach Ryans does.
Brian Daboll’s offense found something between Cam Ward and Carnell Tate in Week 4. CeeDee Lamb torched this Texans secondary on that same afternoon. The Titans need to move Tate around the formation, and target him 10+ times on Sunday.
The Titans-Texans rivalry lives on, especially after the rebranding followed Oilers themes. Owner Amy Adams Strunk will be paying close attention to Sunday’s result. Hopefully the Titans make it a competitive game.
