Did the Tennessee Titans (2-1) make the leap to legitimate contention last week with a victory over the Seattle Seahawks or are the Seahawks down this year? We’ll find out when Mike Mularkey takes his team on the road to face the Houston Texans (1-2) at NRG Stadium.
The game is set to be beamed directly into your face on your local CBS station at 1 p.m. EST.
The Game: Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans (+2)
O/U: 44.0
The History
The Titans and Texans have been division foes since Houston first entered the league in 2002. They’ve played 30 games in that time frame, with Tennessee holding a 16-14 advantage.
The Titans hold that advantage in spite of losing five consecutive games to the Texans from October, 2014 to October 2016. In fact, over their last 10 games, Tennessee has won just twice.
Last year the Titans beat the Texans 24-17 in the season finale that amounted to absolutely nothing for either team. Houston was still AFC South champs at 9-7 and the Titans were out of the playoffs at 9-7.
TENNESSEE TITANS (2-1)
It’s important to understand something when discussing any Mike Mularkey coached NFL team. First, while it would be great if this was Mularkey’s last head coaching job in the NFL, it probably won’t be. He has a way of surviving like a cockroach and pops back up wearing the big headset every few years like a puss filled herpes sore.
Mularkey’s only winning season as a head coach was last year, with the Titans going 9-7. In that 9-7 season, the Titans never won more than two games in a row. In fact, considering Mularkey’s career head coaching record is 29-47 and he has a winning percentage of .382 (the worst in the league of any active head coach by .079 points), it’s a safe bet without even looking that Mularkey has never led a team to three victories in a row in his life.
Outside of that, there’s a lot to like about this Titans team. They’re loaded in the offensive backfield with one of the best young quarterbacks in the league and two starting caliber running backs. Mariota went 20 of 32 for 225 yards and two touchdowns with no picks against the vaunted Seahawks defense last week. DeMarco Murray rushed 14 times for 115 yards and a touchdown and Derek Henry had 13 carries for 54 yards. It was a good day.
Defensively, they managed just one sack against what might be the worst offensive line in the league and just three tackles for a loss. That should be a concern.
HOUSTON TEXANS (1-2)
While the Titans were (maybe) punching their ticket to relevance last week, the Texans nearly pulled off the upset of the year. They were a two touchdown underdog to the New England Patriots and only a last second touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Brandin Cooks downed Houston in the final seconds.
Any question about Deshaun Watson’s readiness for the NFL were answered in an incredible performance where he went 22 of 33 passing for 301 yards, two touchdowns, two picks and ran eight times for 41 yards. He put the Texans ahead at the end of the game and, with their defense, that should have been plenty. It wasn’t.
As good as the Texans’ defense was last season, they’ve stumbled out the gate in 2017. J.J. Watt has yet to record a sack and that’s after the rest of Houston’s front sacked Brady five times last week. They produced just one turnover in a sack fumble from Jadeveon Clowney and have given up 29 or more points in two out of three games.
The Pick
A Mike Mularkey team favored on the road? We live in weird times. Not so weird that Mularkey can win three games in a row. I’m not ready to believe anything that insane can happen just yet. This would be an excellent game for Houston to rediscover its defense. The Texans should be able to beat Tennessee at its own running game. Texans 27, Titans 24
This week
Straight up: 1-0
Against the spread: 1-0
Last week
Straight up: 7-9
Against the spread: 6-10
Season
Straight up: 28-19
Against the spread: 22-25
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