By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – This game deserved to end in a tie. These were two poorly coached offensive units, with some poor plays out of them. 

The Titans were playing against a bunch of backups against the Houston Texans. So the Titans were clearly the best team with an offense that used multiple players in the run and pass game to have success early. Tennessee had early success without its most consistent offensive player this year in DeAndre Hopkins.

Azeez Al-Shaair
Azeez Al-Shaair/ Angie Flatt

Why wasn’t Hopkins used more?  

The Texans’ fire power was zapped without their standout rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, their two best receivers, Tank Dell and Nico Collins, and their top pass rusher in Will Anderson. But that didn’t keep the Texans from finding a way to pull out the win.

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Paul Kuharsky has covered the Tennessee Titans since 1996, first for The Tennessean, then ESPN.com and now independently at paulkuharsky.com. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee and one of the longest-tenured Titans beat reporters in the franchise's history.