Houston (4-5) – Tennessee (1-8)
Sunday, 1:00 pm EST, FOX.
BetMGM NFL Odds: Texans at 6 1/2.
Against the spread: Texans 4-5, Titans 3-6.
Series record: Titans lead 24-23.
Last meeting: The Texans defeated the Titans 26-0 in Houston on September 28.
Last week: The Texans beat the Jaguars 36-29, the Titans lost to the Chargers 27-20 before the bye.
Texans offense: total (15), rushing (22), passing (15), scoring (19).
Texans defense: total (1), rushing (2), passing (4), scoring (1).
Titans offense: total (32), rushing (31), passing (31), scoring (32).
Titans defense: total (25), rushing (27), passing (17), scoring (30).
Turnover differential: Texans plus-6; Titans minus-3.
Texas Player to Watch
DE Danielle Hunter. The 10-year veteran was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week after recording seven tackles, four tackles for loss and setting a career high with 3 1/2 sacks. He also had four quarterback hits and forced a fumble to help Houston overcome a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit to secure the victory. It was the sixth time in Hunter's career that he had at least three sacks, tying his number of such games in the NFL since he entered the league in 2015. He has a team-high 7 1/2 sacks this season and ranks second with eight tackles for loss. He had two sacks in the last game between these teams.
Titans player to watch
QB Cam Ward. He leads rookie quarterbacks with 1,760 passing yards and has the pass in three of his last four games at home. But Ward is completing only 57.1% of his passes and has more interceptions (six) than touchdowns (five). He is also the most sacked quarterback in the NFL, even after the bye.
Key match
Titans offense vs. NFL's stingiest defense. The Titans have scored fewer touchdowns than their opponents for 15 straight games and are dead last this season, allowing just 14.4 points per game. The Texans allow at least 16.7 points and 261.3 yards per game. Houston also left Tennessee out the last time these teams met.
Key injuries
Texans: QB C.J. Stroud will miss his second straight game with a concussion. … OT Titus Howard returned to practice this week after taking time off against Jacksonville while recovering from a concussion. … K Kaimi Fairbairn (quadriceps) and S Jalen Pitre (concussion) also will miss a second straight game.
Titans: WR Calvin Ridley (hamstring) and OLB Arden Key (quadriceps) could return. … DT Jeffrey Simmons (hamstring) could miss a third straight game and cornerback Xavier Woods (hamstring) could miss a second straight game. … TE Chig Okonkwo is limited with an injured leg, and RBs Kalel Mullings (ankle) and Mike Brown (knee) are trying to return from injured reserve.
Episode notes
The Titans hold a slight lead over the team that replaced them in Houston in 2002, and the Texans need Sunday's win to even the series record at 24 points apiece. The Texans will be trying to make their sixth playoff appearance in franchise history. They come to Nashville having won their last four games on the Titans' home field.
Statistics and more
Texans backup QB Davis Mills passed for 292 yards with two touchdown passes and a scoring run last week in his first start since 2022. … RB Woody Marks led the team with 63 yards rushing last week. … RB Nick Chubb has totaled 202 yards in two career games against Tennessee. … WR Nico Collins had a season-high 136 yards last week. … TE Dalton Schultz had a 53-yard reception for his first touchdown reception of the season against Jacksonville. … Rookie WR Jayden Higgins threw his third touchdown of the season last week. … LB Aziz Al-Shaair led the team with eight tackles last week. … DE Will Anderson had a sack, a tackle for loss, a defensive pass and forced a Jaguars fumble. He has four sacks in three career games against the Titans. … DT Sheldon Rankins returned the ball 32 yards for a touchdown last week. … CB Derek Stingley threw his third interception of the season against the Jaguars. … The Titans recorded a season-high six sacks in Week 9. … Ward leads all rookies with 1,760 passing yards. … WR Chimere Dike leads the NFL with 1,514 all-purpose yards. He had three kickoff returns for 98 yards and his first career kickoff return touchdown in the final game. He finished with 117 yards on four kickoff returns. … WR Elyk Ayomanor had a team-high 46 yards in his last game. He is one of five rookies with two or more catches in nine straight games to start this season. … DT Jeffrey Simmons has lost three of his last four games. … NT T'Vondre Sweat has lost two of its last three games. … LB Cody Barton returned an interception for a TD last week for the first time in his career. He is one of four LBs in the NFL with three or more interceptions this season. … LB Cedric Gray got his first career sack in the final game. … LB Jihad Ward had a career-high 2 1/2 sacks in Week 9.
Fantasy advice
Texans defense. Not only has Houston thrown 10 interceptions this season, but the Texans are having their best game of the season with five sacks. They're playing against a rookie quarterback in Ward, who was sacked 38 times for a league-worst record even after leaving Tennessee.
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