Week 16 Game Recap: Texans at Titans

Houston blew the doors open and the defense dominated all game long to continue their playoff push

Houston won the toss and elected to defer, giving the ball to Zach Mettenberger and the Titan offense to open the game.

They opened the game by returning a fumble for a touchdown on the opening drive. It was a great tone-setter for Houston. They took a 7-0 lead with 13:01 remaining in the first quarter.

The Texan defense again took the field on the cusp of a touchdown by safety Quentin Demps. They quickly ended the drive again and forced a punt after the Titans gained minimal yardage.

Brandon Weeden took the field in his first start as a Houston Texan on the ensuing drive. The Texans came out running early, trying to establish a ground game to take pressure off of the new quarterback.

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Surprisingly, the wildcat made an early appearance, but with B.J. Daniels receiving the snap. He tossed a quick screen for a good gain and it kept the defense on its toes.

They did garner a couple first downs, but ultimately had to punt after back to back incompletions.

Fortunately on the punt, the Titans fumbled the ball again and Houston recovered on the 11 yard line going in to score. They couldn’t get the job done and were held to a field goal, but took a 10-0 lead with 3:19 to go in the first.

The defense came out once again looking to feast on a Tennessee mistake. They instead forced a quick 3 and out, giving the ball back to the Texan offense.

The offense continued its inept day, as Weeden fumbled the football and turned it over on Houston’s own 25 yard line. They had a chance to blow the game open, but instead have Tennessee life and a chance to get right back into the game.

The only reason Houston had any points at this stage of the game was due to great defensive plays.

Even after the turnover, the defense actually forced Tennessee backwards and out of field goal range. They had to punt and give the ball back with no damage done.

The offense for Houston was being ultra-conservative trying to avoid making crucial mistakes. It really took them nowhere fast as they called basic run play followed by basic run play, and yet another drive ended in a quick punt.

Luckily for the Texans, the defense was stellar throughout the entire first half. They didn’t give any ground to the Titan offense and zero points.

The Texans finally took a shot downfield on their next drive to DeAndre Hopkins, and completed a 44 yard pass to get into scoring range.

Weeden put the ball into his own hands, and on 3rd and goal from the 7 yard line scampered into the end zone for a touchdown. The Texans took a 17-0 lead with 2:32 to go in the first half.

The defense neutralized the threat of points before halftime again, and made the Titans punt the ball away with less than two minutes to go. Too bad for them though, as the offense went backwards and punted the ball back after a very quick three and out. The Titans took over at the 40 yard line going in with a minute to go in the first half.

The defense did their job and the Texans headed into the locker room at halftime up 17-0.

The Texans came out firing on the first drive of the second half and drove down quickly for another touchdown. It came on a DeAndre Hopkins catch in the end zone from Brandon Weeden. The Texans took a 24-0 early in the 3rd quarter.

The defense continued their strong outing forcing their 3rd turnover on a great play by Eddie Pleasant.

The Texans again capitalized and converted that into a quick touchdown to Nate Washington and took a 31-0 lead with 6:17 to go in the 3rd quarter.

The defense again stifled the Tennessee offense and held them to nothing. They forced a punt and got the ball back for their offense to churn more clock and bust the game even more wide open. They were able to tack on a field goal and take a 34-0 lead with 0:54 to go in the 3rd quarter.

The Texans gave up some ground and allowed Tennessee to reach the red zone, but the threat was shut down quickly by J.J. Watt on a sack-forced fumble. The Texans took over possession with just over 11 minutes to go in the contest.

Unfortunately, they had to punt after a quick 3 and out, but the scoreboard was still 34-0.

The back and forth continued over the next few minutes as the Texans played conservatively to try and run the clock, and the defense for Houston continued to stop the Titans.

Tennessee finally got a touchdown on a 4th and goal play with only 1:31 remaining. The shutout bid was nullified, but it was still a great outing for Houston’s defense.

Houston made a strong statement and won 34-6 in Tennessee as they try and clinch the AFC South and a playoff bid with a home game in the first round.