Halftime: Hapless Texans Down 21-0 to Titans
The Houston Texans enter halftime down 21-0 against the AFC South champion Tennessee Titans.
The Titans clinch the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC playoffs with a win. Houston is 4-12 and playing merely for pride - and perhaps a "better" draft pick.
On the bright side, lone Ring of Honor member Andre Johnson has a renewed relationship with the organization? Yes, it's been that bad of an early afternoon at NRG Stadium.
It's been a quiet game for Houston offensively, unable to get much of anything going either on the ground or through the air. Rookie quarterback Davis Mills has gone 7 of 14 for only 61 yards, with an impressive minus one-yard rushing on two carries. Brandin Cooks has statistically been Houston's standout offensive player, with 26 yards on three receptions including a long of 25 yards.
True to their league-worst rushing game, the Texans have managed only nine yards on 11 runs. Newly signed running back Rex Burkhead leads the way with a whopping seven yards.
MVP of the day on offense so far goes to punter Cameron Johnston, with four of five punts landing inside Tennessee's 20, and a long of 50 yards.
Defensively it's been a mixed bag from the Texans, who did their best early on to hold back the Titans before the floodgates began to break as they hit the second quarter.
Lovie Smith's defense held Ryan Tannehill's offense to just a missed field goal and a punt in the first quarter. However, Tennessee - still without leading rusher Derrick Henry - scored a touchdown on each of its next three drives.
Worth noting, Tennessee's offensive efficiency markedly improved as the half wore on, with their first 68-yard touchdown drive lasting 6:31, their second 85-yard drive just 2:46, and their final 64-yard drive just 33 seconds - not helped by a penalty on safety Eric Murray which wiped out an interception by cornerback Lonnie Johnson which otherwise have been a touchback with 11 seconds to go, down 14-0.
