The Houston Texans won't need Blake Cashman or Will Anderson for the Tennessee Titans

The Houston Texans are looking like they're going to be without two of their star players on defense for yet another week. As of Dec. 27, neither linebacker Blake Cashman nor defensive end Will Anderson Jr. has returned to practice yet. The duo has been out for several weeks at this point, costing the Texans their best tackler and coverage linebacker in Cashman, and arguably their most well-rounded end in Anderson.

Making things a bit more bleak is the loss of Jonathan Greenard, who is also missing practice this week due to an injury. Greenard is leading the team in sacks this year and is having a true-blue breakout season. At 12.5 sacks, he's set a new career-high for himself and with two games to go, has put himself in place to have one of the all-time best seasons for a Texans pass rusher.

Yet, missing one of the last two games would all but guarantee he stays at 12.5 sacks on the season. And while being without three of your best defensive players sounds awful on any given week, the Texans may have caught a break with this specific week, as they're facing off with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

The Titans' offense is in shambles despite having Derrick Henry and DeAndre Hopkins. Henry is averaging under four yards per carry for the season and may will himself to a 1,000-yard season, but he's not the same player he used to be, and can't carry the team anymore. DeAndre Hopkins is on the verge of a 1,000 season, and at times still looks like a Pro Bowler, but having bad quarterback play has limited his impact this season.

And that's where the Titans struggle the most. Ryan Tannehill is no longer a viable option and rookie Will Levis is more known for his weird food habits than he is for his steady play. He can score touchdowns on occasions but he's so inconsistent that it isn't hard to come up with a game plan to stop him.

If you were going to go into any week down a few key players, the 5-10 Titans were the team to do that with.