The Tennessee Titans figured out how to beat the Houston Texans in a major upset

On By Littum

HOUSTON — Decomposition of Tennessee Titans’ stunning 32-27 win over the division rival Houston Texas Sunday at NRG Stadium:

Talking points

  • Titans fans, you knew all these tunes by heart, right? The costly breakdowns on special teams. Allows for a multitude of sacks. And of course that one crushing fumble by quarterback Will Levis. Sunday’s game played all the old hits, threatening to negate the fact that these Titans actually outplayed the AFC South’s best team for most of the game. But hey, guess what? This time The Titans were able to overcome their own shortcomings and find a way to seize the type of exciting, back-and-forth battle that they haven’t won all season. When all seemed lost, a 70-yard, catch-and-run touchdown by Chig Okonkwo put the Titans back in front with 9:35 left. The defense helped hold up, giving the Texans a late safety in what was a disappointing home loss for the Houston crowd.
  • Levis got the win he had been after this season. However, the pick-six was a blow to the stomach. After solid performances the past two weeks, he completed his first 11 throws on Sunday. In the minus column, he was sacked eight times, and much of that could be attributed to him holding on to the ball for too long. But you could overlook that and still rate his day as a good one. . . until the interception. Can’t do it. You just can’t.
  • Otherwise, a lot of positives for coach Brian Callahan’s offense. Levis had 278 passing yards. Running back Tony Pollard ran for 119. The Titans’ offense scored on its first three possessions of the game, including TD drives of 89 and 95 yards, and was able to keep the scoring going in the second half, which has been a problem throughout. season.
  • As far as the Titans’ defense goes, this was not a perfect day. But it was a winning performance. Defensemen played with energy and passion, and that led to some critical, step-up moments, especially in the red zone. The Texans missed a 28-yard chip shot that would have tied the game in the final minutes. Houston quarterback CJ Stroud struggled to get on track late, twice throwing passes directly at defenders. The Texans also struggled to run the football, creating an advantage for the Titans.
  • As bad as special teams have been in general, kicker Nick Folk hasn’t gotten much love. But the Titans have a fine kicker. He has ended the days when the Titans roamed the league looking for an answer at this position. People drilled three field goals of 50-plus yards on Sunday, including a 56-yarder.

Where the game turned

After Levis’ pick-six and Jha’Quan Jackson’s muffed punt, it felt like the Titans — who haven’t been able to overcome such self-inflicted adversity all season — were done in Houston. But the Titans’ defense held the Texans to a field goal after the punt accident. And then, suddenly Levis found Okonkwo – do you remember him? — in acres of open space to turn the game back in Tennessee’s favor.

Key number

8 — Sacks by the Texans’ defense, bringing the total allowed by the Titans to 20 over the past three games. It is way too many.

What I liked

The sacks and self-inflicted mistakes haven’t gone away, but offensively, things continue to improve. This was Callahan’s best called play as the Titans head coach. There have been improvements on that side of the ball over the past few weeks.

What I didn’t like

On the Texans’ second touchdown, Titans safety Mike Brown was in position to de-cleat receiver Nico Collins in the back of the end zone. But Brown seemed to control himself, allowing Collins to catch a 5-yard TD and celebrate effusively with fans. Brown was the Titans defensive back flagged for breaking up a fourth-down pass in the end zone with a hard – but legal – hit on a receiver during last week’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings. If one had anything to do with the other, that’s a shame.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at [email protected] and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.