Houston Texans: Good, bad and ugly in loss to Titans

NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 16: Deshaun Watson #4 is tackled by Jurrell Casey #99 during the Tennessee Titans vs Houston Texans at Nissan Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 16: Deshaun Watson #4 is tackled by Jurrell Casey #99 during the Tennessee Titans vs Houston Texans at Nissan Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
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NASHVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 16: Corey Davis #84 of the Tennessee Titans is tackled by Johnathan Joseph #24 of the Houston Texans during the fourth quarter at Nissan Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 16: Corey Davis #84 of the Tennessee Titans is tackled by Johnathan Joseph #24 of the Houston Texans during the fourth quarter at Nissan Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The Bad: Defensive back tackling

As the last line of defense for the Houston Texans, the defensive backs for the Tennessee Titans wasn’t that great, and their open field tackling can be described as bad and nonexistent.

Don’t agree? At ProFootballFocus.com, they even wrote about how the Texans defensive backs struggled with tackling at times on Sunday:

"“Both Justin Reid and Johnathan Joseph whiffed in the open field allowing him to convert for a first down …”"

Even with missing the open field tackles on a drive that eventually led the Titans to the game-winning field goal, Reid finished as the second-leading tackler with five total tackles, while Joseph finished with two tackles. Also in the defensive backfield, Kareem Jackson had six tackles and Aaron Colvin totaled three tackles.

Tyrann Mathieu finished with two tackles, but that is coming off a week where he had an interception against the New England Patriots. Again, the entire loss can’t be placed in the laps of the defensive backs, but film doesn’t lie, and the Texans defensive backfield needs to improve their overall play and work on basic things like making open field tackles, because like it or not, those miscues will come back and did haunt the Texans in the three-point loss.

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