Texans 26 – Titans 3
Let’s ring in the new year football fans. Your boy PlayActionReal watched the Texans host the Tennessee Titans at NRG stadium. CJ Stroud, the second overall pick in the draft, hadn’t played since hitting the back of his head hard on the turf in a loss to the Jets Dec. 10. He picked up right where he left off before the injury, moving the offense effectively and throwing his 21st touchdown pass of the season in the second quarter.
The Titans didn’t do much to help themselves. The Titans had Houston stopped at its 11-yard line late in the first quarter, but Caleb Murphy was flagged for running into the kicker to give the Texans a first down. That set up the Texans with an easy touchdown pass to Brevin Jordan to make it 0-10 early in the second quarter.
The defense was playing with their hair on fire. Will Levis lost the ball on a strip-sack by Jerry Hughes. Then Rankins, a 287-pound defensive tackle scooped it up and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 17-0. Levis left the game after injuring his foot on that play.
Ryan Tannehill took over. He threw for 168 yards but couldn’t get the Titans in the end zone. Tennessee got its only points on a 53-yard field goal by Nick Folk as time expired in the second quarter.
Houston defensive end Will Anderson, the third overall pick in the draft, had sacks on consecutive plays near the end of the second quarter in his return after missing two games with an ankle injury.
The second half the Texans defense made life hard for Tannehill. The defense had 6 sacks as a unit. Ka’imi Fairbairn sealed the game and made it 26-3 on a 51-yard field goal with about 5½ minutes to go.
C.J. Stroud threw for 213 yards and a touchdown in his return from a concussion and the Houston Texans rolled to a 26-3 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday to boost their playoff chances.
Houston (9-7), Indianapolis and Jacksonville all won Sunday to leave the three teams with identical records in the AFC South and keep the Texans in contention for both the division title and a playoff spot.
A victory next week at Indianapolis will guarantee the Texans, who won just three games last season, their first postseason berth since 2019. I hope you all have a happy new year.