Titans 41, Texans 38: What We Learned
It was not until time ran out on the regular season that the Tennessee Titans knew they had finished first in the AFC South.
Sam Sloman’s 37-yard field goal as the last seconds ticked off lifted the Titans to a 41-38 victory over the Houston Texans, but only after it hit the right upright and bounced through. With that, they finished 11-5, claimed their first division title – their first since 2008 – by virtue of a tiebreaker with the Indianapolis Colts and earned the right to host a playoff game during wild card weekend.
Who knows what will happen during the postseason? As Tennessee proved with its run to the AFC Championship game last year, anything is possible.
Here is some of what we learned, however, about the Titans in their final contest before they set off in pursuit of a Super Bowl appearance.
• Derrick Henry earned it: The two-time NFL rushing champion became the eighth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, and he did it with 250 yards on 34 carries, both of which were career-highs.
No one can say the Titans simply fed him in order to get him to that milestone. They needed every one of those carries and yards in order to outlast the Texans, who for the second time this season posed a stiff challenge.
He had more than 100 yards rushing in each half (113 in the first, 137 in the second), scored two rushing touchdowns and at times was a valuable decoy, which allowed quarterback Ryan Tannehill to rush for 38 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries in his own right.
“Told those guys [on the offensive line] in the locker room, every single one of them on offense how thankful I was for them,” Henry said. “I wouldn't want nobody else blocking for me but the guys up front, and I couldn't do it without them.”
Fittingly, the final play for the offense was a four-yard run by Henry that got the ball a little closer for kicker Sam Sloman’s game-winning field goal. That gave him 2,027 yards for the season, the fifth highest single-season total in NFL history.
• Not ready for anything: Houston came into this game with nothing to lose – and played like it. The Texans (4-12) attempted a reverse on a kickoff return, a fake punt and a flea-flicker. All of them worked to a degree on a day when little went well for the Titans’ defense as Houston scored on each of its last eight possessions (four touchdowns, four field goals).
The fake punt came early in the second quarter. Backup quarterback A.J. McCarron lined up as the personal protector and completed a pass for 20 yards that ultimately led to a field goal.
The tricky return allowed Houston’s offense to start a drive at its own 35, its best starting field position of the second half other than the time Tennessee’s offense turned it over on downs. That drive ended with a touchdown 90 seconds later.
The flea-flicker came earlier in the third quarter and produced a 38-yard touchdown pass from Watson to Brandin Cooks, the Texans’ first touchdown of the contest after three field goals.
“I think we're well aware that they would do anything that they possibly could, and they had nothing to lose,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “We have to be better. You know what I mean? We have to be better in those situations. We have to get those guys covered. We have to be able to understand that flee flickers and keeping our eyes on our guy, all those different types of plays, reverse on the kickoff and on ask on and on.”
• Count on the kickers: The Titans had a hard time finding anyone to make a kick in 2019. Not so in 2020.
The season ended with Sloman’s decisive three-pointers in his Titans’ debut and capped a day in which the rookie out of Miami (Ohio) was a perfect 7-for-7 (five PATs, two field goals). Sloman, who started the season with the Rams, got the call this week because Stephen Gostkowski, who made game-winning kicks each of the first three weeks, is on the COVID-19 reserve list.
Signed to the practice squad in November, Sloman did not even meet many of his current teammates before Sunday. He sure made a good first impression.
“He came up huge,” safety Kevin Byard said. “He made all of his kicks. It’s crazy because the guy comes from not having a job or whatever and then comes in here and makes the game-winning field goal to make us win the division.”
• All good things must end: Corey Davis’ best season as a professional included the best stretch of performances he has strung together. It began in November, lasted until mid-December and included four 100-yard performances.
He was shut out in Week 16 against Green Bay, which had a lot to do with the fact that only two passes came his way the entire contest. Against Houston, he finished with five receptions for 39 yards, and the fact that he did not have better numbers was on him. The soon-to-be free agent had at least three drops and ultimately caught fewer than half of the 11 passes that were thrown to him.
The quiet finish left him 16 yards yards shy of 1,000 for the season. He finished with 65 receptions for 984 yards, both career-highs but also second on the team to A.J. Brown, who caught 10 of 11 passes thrown his way against the Texans for 151 yards. That gave Brown 1,075 yards, his second 1,000-yard season in as many tries.
“My stomach is sick for Corey,” Tannehill said. “I really wanted him to reach his mark as well. But [it] doesn't take way what a season he's had. Four yards doesn't really change the season he's had.”
• One and won: It has become abundantly clear that Vrabel and his staff learn their lessons. Over the last two seasons, the Titans are 8-4 against AFC South opponents, but they are 6-0 in the second contests with Houston, Jacksonville and Indianapolis during those two campaigns.
This victory over Houston was reminiscent of the first meeting. Tennessee built a lead, allowed Houston to get rolling in the second half and had to do something dramatic late to win it. Take the season series with Indianapolis, though. Tennessee was blown out 34-17 in the first meeting but crushed the Colts 45-26 a mere 17 days later. With Jacksonville, it was a nail-biter the first time (33-30) and a laugher the second (31-10).
“Focus on winning, winning the division, beating the Texans, us being able to put on those hats and shirts, make it to the playoffs,” Henry said. “That was the main focus.”
All of this bodes well for the start of the postseason given that the Titans’ opponent in the wild card round is one they faced already this season, the Baltimore Ravens. Tennessee won that one 30-24 in overtime on Nov. 22.
