Houston Texans Rapid Reaction: Poor showing leads to loss against Titans
The Houston Texans let a chance for a win against the Tennessee Titans get away from them as they lost for the second consecutive week to start the 2018 season.
The Houston Texans have a problem with their slow start to the 2018 NFL season, falling to the Tennessee Titans, 20-17. This was a game where the Titans had Blaine Gabbert as their starting quarterback and saw their two starting offensive tackles out with injury.
Tennessee used trickery and were just smarter than the Texans in Week 2 as the Texans continued their poor start to the season. The Titans tricked the Texans in the first quarter with a fake punt that had Dane Cruikshank catch a 66-yard pass from Kevin Byard for a touchdown, with the Texans being caught off-guard and having no clue about the play.
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That was just a sample of what was to come for the Texans as they were seemingly out-coached, plus the Titans played better football than Houston on Sunday.
Also in the first quarter, Taywan Taylor caught an 18-yard touchdown off a Gabbert pass for what was a 14-0 Tennessee lead. Also on that play the Texans defense missed two tackles.
The Texans showed signs of life near the end of the first half with their lone touchdown of the second quarter. That came off a 28-yard touchdown reception from DeAndre Hopkins off a Watson pass.
Watson in the first half was 10-of-14 for 120 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Lamar Miller had five carries for 33 yards and Alfred Blue had four carries for 18 yards in the first half.
Houston scored first in the second half with a 34-yard field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn. Houston then scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter when Will Fuller caught a 39-yard pass from Watson.
Tennessee came back with two fourth quarter field goals, and that was enough for the win as Ryan Succop hit field goals of 42 and 31 yards, including the latter being the game winner.
Watson for the game was 22-of-32 for 310 yards with two touchdowns, one interception and two lost fumbles. His counterpart Gabbert was 13-of-20 for 117 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Miller led the Texans with 68 yards rushing on 14 carries with a long run of 18 yards.
Fuller and Hopkins each went over 100 yards receiving as Fuller led the way with eight receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown. Hopkins caught six passes for 110 yards with one touchdown, including a reception of 31 yards.
Overall, this was another bad showing for the Texans, especially in the first quarter. The team didn’t execute — especially with the offensive line — and the game plan didn’t seem to be what was needed against the Mike Vrabel coached Titans.
Next. Texans at Titans: Live Game Day Thread. dark
Let us know your thoughts on the game and your rapid reactions for Week 2. Next week the Texans will play their first home game of the season, hosting the New York Giants.