Titans upset Texans: What Does it Mean?

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HOUSTON – The Titans secured victory when Harold Landry pushed himself free of Tytus Howard the back of the end zone under the goal post and forced CJ Stroud onto the “Salute to Service” stripe for a safety.

Only 1:17 remained, and the play moved the Titans ahead 32-27. The onside kick failed, as it typically does. 

Will Levis kneeled twice and Tennessee collected its best win of the season, over the AFC South-leading Texans, a team picked by many to be right there behind the Chiefs in the conference.

Tennessee Titans linebacker Harold Landry III (58) sacks Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) for a safety during the second half an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
Harold Landry sacks CJ Stroud for a safety/ ASSOCIATED PRESS

The modest improvements the Titans showed in losses to the defensively tougher Chargers and Vikings became more significant, came with more resolve and more than double the scoring average. 

Houston is 7-5 and the Titans are 3-8. Body-of-work says the Texans are significantly better. Sunday’s result says differently. It’s something to be celebrated for sure, but I think it’s dangerous to use any sort of measuring stick to compare the two teams in broad fashion.

The Titans have six games left, among them two against the woeful Jaguars, one at the Colts (who beat them in Nashville on Oct. 13) and a rematch with the Texans in Nashville.

They’ve not won back-to-back games since Weeks 10 and 11 of the 2022 season, against the Broncos and Packers in November. Whether they actually believe it or not, they are talking like a team that will run BryMakthe table or do enough to find a way into the postseason. They point to Arden Key's experience. He was on the 2022 Jaguars, a team that started 3-7, finished 6-1 and then won a Wild Card game over the Chargers. 

“Things haven’t been going the way we want them to, we know that everything is still in front of us,” Jeffery Simmons said. “Especially my first couple years, guys knew and everybody in our division knew and they still know that we won’t bow down to nobody, that this is our division.”

Even if the Titans go on a run, saying it now with wins over a Miami team that qualified as minor-league on Sept. 30, the 3-9 Patriots and now the Texans is quite a bold statement.

“That ain’t our concern right now, how much Ws or Ls (the Texans have) got,” Jarvis Brownlee said. “We’re focused on ourselves and keep moving forward. We got this dub this week. …We’re 1-1 in division games, so we’ve still got a chance. As long as we got a chance, then we’re going to keep fighting, we’re going to keep working and we’re going to keep getting better and progressing.”

As they should.

The two teams left outside the division will post significant challenges: Washington has leveled off some but is 7-5 and Cincinnati has a high-powered offense and is coached by Brian Callahan’s mentor, Zac Taylor.  

Perhaps the Titans can carry over the good from this game and squash out the bad for their stretch run.

They let Tony Pollard be the bell cow again, and he turned 24 carries into 119 yards, including a 10-yard TD run. That capped an excellent 95-yard touchdown march, which followed an 89-yard drive that ended with a Nick Westbrook-Ikhine 38-yard TD catch.

The offense was humming during those consecutive series.

Will Levis was dragged down seven times in the first half, eight overall, and threw an interception returned 65 yards for a score by Jimmie Ward. But the quarterback who showed some good signs in the last two games continues to grow. Beyond the scoring throw to NWI, he rolled right and hit Chig Okonkwo in stride with a ball he took 70 yards for a fourth-quarter go-ahead touchdown. 

He had a 123.3 rating for the game. Things continue to open up.

The Titans played a solid second half: Scoring 12 points as compared to their average of 2.9; Cleaning up the pass protection and allowing only one sack of Levis; Not allowing the Texans a conversion on six third downs and coming alive for four sacks after none in the first 30 minutes; Committing just two penalties.

Both Jarvis Brownlee and Kenneth Murray had interceptions of CJ Stroud, which helped the Titans win time of possession handily – 34:29 to 25:31.

The Titans were able to handle their own troubles.

Levis and the offense dealt with the sacks.

Colt Anderson skated through another game with a couple of ridiculous special teams’ snafus. The Titans wanted to get rookie Cedric Gray in the mix for his first test. Dameon Pierce took the opening kickoff and ran into a mob, but he managed to back out and Gray had him dead but let him escape, When Pierce took off to the right, Mike Brown had committed to the pile and there was plenty of room for an 80-yard return that set up a one-play TD drive.

In the third quarter, Jha’Quan Jackson lost a fumble on a punt return.

Brian Callahan gave the repeat special teams and Anderson answer, that something that has regularly not been good enough was not good enough. There will be six more games of Anderson showing that -- for him, at least – a failure to fix things in his department is perfectly acceptable at Titans’ headquarters.

There is progress elsewhere. It’s come slowly and is very likely too late for this season to be for much more than personnel assessment. (That's not what the Titans were selling with all the high-priced free agent and trade additions.)

Levis is doing well to wash away some of the stains from early in the season. Brownlee, who had three passes defensed, is good. Daryl Worley, who stepped in for a sick Amani Hooker, is a nice add. Calvin Ridley continues to find plays. Nick Folk is so steady. 

But the first chapter of JC Latham against Will Anderson had too many Anderson wins. Landry is too quiet. Jerome Baker had a disappointing game while Azeez Al-Shaair outshined him despite penalties. Another former Titan Robert Woods, who doesn’t have juice, was better than Jackson returning punts, which was easily accomplished.

Levis spoke last week about how the good stretch of offense against the Vikings was fun, and he said it with a smile.

He said a lot of the right things about the Titans after this win. I understand at 3-8 he's cautious about seeming too happy. doesn't want to throw a party.

While the locker room told us it ain't dead yet, in an interview room down the hall, Levis felt like a funeral officiant.

“I’m proud of how everyone’s handled themselves,” Levis said. “Teams across the league in similar situations to we are, just bottom of that pack… we feel the football we put on tape and how we prepare, how we strain every single game that we aren’t going to be seen as a team that’s kind of given up.

"So credit to everybody that’s just powering through, blocking out all the noise, keeping the blinder on, and just getting a win."