Texans vs. Titans: Full Tennessee Game Preview
With two games remaining in 2015, the Tennessee Titans have an opportunity to wreck the playoff hopes of the first-place Houston Texans.
You may remember that the uninspired loss to the Texans back in early November was the last straw to the Ken Whisenhunt era.
The Texans took over first place in the AFC South last week with a win over the Indianapolis Colts, and their defense has finally morphed into the defense that we expected it to be at the start of the season.
Quarterback Zach Mettenberger will make his ninth career NFL start, and his fourth against the Texans. Hopefully the familiarity that Mettenberger should have with the Houston defense will aid in his attempt to get his first win as an NFL starter.
Pride is all that's left to play for if you're Tennessee, and getting a win over Houston would help with restoring some of that. Draft position should never trump the drive to remain competitive and get wins. That's amplified even further when your roster is full of young players that need to have that taste of winning.
Where: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
When: Sunday, December 27, 1 p.m. ET
TV: Channel 5 WTVF (Local)
Week 15 Results and Recap
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Last week didn't feature the heartbreak of many of the other losses the Titans have suffered in recent memory. They fought hard despite being widely outmatched by the New England Patriots. They even found a way to make things interesting in the fourth quarter after Delanie Walker went into full beast mode with a long touchdown scamper.
The final score of 33-16 was a testament to this team not giving up under interim head coach Mike Mularkey. They still have a lot of fight in them, and they'll need that same level of fight if they want to get another win in 2015.
We also got to see how Mularkey handled an injured Marcus Mariota, who wanted to go back into the game. Unlike former head coach Whisenhunt, Mularkey elected to take the cautious route of leaving Mariota on the sideline.
It was a tough decision to make, but the right one. His top priority is to keep the franchise's future investment protected, and that's even more true when the stakes are so low.
Mettenberger came into the game and made some great throws, showing that he is continuing to develop into a smarter quarterback. A late interception on an errant throw to Walker essentially ended the Titans' comeback attempt and doubled down on the notion that Mettenberger still has a ways to go before being considered a full-time starter.
The offensive line took the biggest beating last week as it struggled the entire game in pass protection, making it even more difficult for a limited Tennessee passing attack.
The Texans are coming into this game fresh off of an emotional win over the Colts to grab sole possession of first place. This has all the makings of a "trap game" if the Texans overlook this matchup and the Titans bring in a solid effort.
1. Texans (7-7)
2. Colts (6-8)
3. Jaguars (5-9)
4. Titans (3-11)
News and Notes
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Antonio Andrews Misses Crucial Block
Young players tend to make their fair share of costly mistakes. Those mistakes are magnified when they lead to the franchise quarterback being injured. That's what Antonio Andrews is up against as he missed a critical block that left Mariota unprotected against the New England pass rush.
Andrews tried to block the wrong guy, according to Mularkey, via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com.
To be fair to Andrews, Mularkey also went on to say that Andrews has been the most consistent third-down blocker at running back.
It's a costly error on the part of Andrews, but one you have to live with. The Titans have no other answers on the roster and have to hope that Andrews keep developing, as this is basically his first NFL season.
Andrews played very little in his rookie season and certainly didn't see this level of snaps at running back. He was more of a special teams contributor in 2014.
Like much of the Tennessee roster, patience is needed over these last two games as there is so much inexperience.
Zach Mettenberger Up Against a Familiar Foe
It's somewhat of a quirky stat that Mettenberger will make his fourth career start against the Texans in such a limited amount of starts in his career.
Familiarity with Houstin is something the Titans are hoping they get from Mettenberger this time around against a defense that will bring plenty of pressure into the backfield.
To offset this aggressive pass rush, Mettenberger may need to stop relying on deep throws. The pass protections just can't hold up long enough for those types of routes to develop. Finding more checkdown throws is what Mettenberger needs to show improvement, according to Mularkey, via John Glennon of the Tennessean.
Mettenberger has to start working through his progressions more and stop trying to force throws. Sometimes the best throw to make is out of bounds. He'll be fully tested on how to handle a pass rush with J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus chasing him down on nearly every play.
No Pro Bowl Selections for the Titans
It should come as no surprise that the 3-11 Titans were snubbed from the Pro Bowl. With that said, you can't help but wonder how Walker didn't make it.
Walker currently leads all NFL tight ends in receptions with 76, and is third in yards with 935. That's despite opposing defenses making him the focal point. Teams know that Walker is one of the few targets that the Titans can depend on, and he still finds ways to make his impact.
He commented on being snubbed from the Pro Bowl roster, per Kuharsky: "I’m doing it on a bad team. I get confused because I would think that you should praise that. If he’s doing it on a bad team, and you know I am getting the ball, then stop me.”
It's hard to make an argument for any other Tennessee player, with the small exception of Jurrell Casey and his seven sacks.
A testament to how mediocre the AFC South has been, the entire division only had two Pro Bowl selection—Watt and DeAndre Hopkins.
Both Walker and Casey are first alternates to the Pro Bowl roster.
Injury Update
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Marcus Mariota desperately wanted to go back into that game last week against the Patriots, showcasing his competitive drive that the Titans are lucky to have in their franchise quarterback.
The wise decision was to leave Mariota on the sideline, and not risk further injury. Knee injuries are nothing to mess with.
Mariota will miss his third start of the season against the Texans, per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com.
There's still a small chance that Mariota returns for the season finale, but that doesn't seem like a logical decision. Game experience is definitely important, but so is avoiding the same injury-plagued road that Jake Locker went down.
Kendall Wright is the other major injury concern facing the Titans on offense. This season definitely hasn't gone according to plan for him. They desperately need a spark at wide receiver, and Wright would certainly provide that with his ability to gain yardage after the catch.
Two broken ribs are keeping Wright's status up in the air for Week 16, per Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com. He was a limited participant Wednesday, leaving a glimmer of hope that he can return to the field this week.
Even if Wright does play, he'll likely not be 100 percent. His presence alone will help the offense, and might open things up more for Dorial Green-Beckham.
The Titans will likely again be without some key defensive depth as nose tackle Sammie Hill was unable to practice on Wednesday, and safety Da'Norris Searcy was a limited participant.
Injury report courtesy of TitansOnline.com
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Key Matchups
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Taylor Lewan/Chance Warmack vs. J.J. Watt/Whitney Mercilus
It has been an underwhelming 2015 season for two former first-round draft picks—Taylor Lewan and Chance Warmack. For the Titans to compete with a ferocious defense like the Texans have, these two guys have to start living up to their draft position.
Lewan's stock is way down, according to Ross Tucker of NBC Sports Network.
Less than two months ago, the likes of Watt and Mercilus absolutely put on a massacre to the tune of six sacks combined. That also came against the immobile Mettenberger, who they will be up against once again.
Mettenberger stands no chance to showcase his strong arm if he doesn't have a solid pocket to throw in. That means strong showings from Lewan and Warmack are paramount. They can change their negative perceptions quickly by playing well here and giving the Titans a chance to move the ball down the field regularly.
The penalties also have to be cleaned up by these two. The Titans play with too small a margin of error to be pushing the offense into long third-down-conversion attempts. Lewan and Warmack are two of the biggest penalty offenders on the team, per Kuharsky.
Zach Mettenberger vs. Houston Secondary
No one is more due for a win as a starter than Mettenberger. He's 0-8 entering this game, and three of those losses are to this same Texans team.
Revenge will definitely be on Mettenberger's mind, and he has the chance to increase his trade value by throwing a wrench in the playoff hopes for Houston.
Mettenberger looked moderately sharp in relief duty last week against a formidable Patriots pass defense. He mixed in some untimely turnovers to go with it, but he was fighting an uphill battle.
The opportunity for Mettenberger to catch some national attention is high this week, and he knows it's his team for at least one week. Expect him to come prepared and put together a decent day at the office.
Brian Orakpo vs. Houston Offensive Line
The Titans have to counterpunch Houston's feisty pass rush with one of their own, and it starts with Brian Orakpo.
Orakpo has been held in check ever since Derrick Morgan was lost to a season-ending shoulder injury. However, he's fully capable of creating some massive discomfort for whomever the Texans throw out there at quarterback.
Brian Hoyer is still in the concussion protocol, and T.J. Yates suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, per Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com.
The Titans would be up against Brandon Weeden if Hoyer isn't cleared to play.
With the Texans having quarterback questions of their own, this is a great opportunity for Orakpo and company to fight fire with fire by getting to the quarterback.
Matchup X-Factors
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Offensive X-Factor for Titans: Harry Douglas
Pressure desperately needs to be taken off the young shoulders of Dorial Green-Beckham. He's a dynamic player but is nowhere near ready to be the focal point at wide receiver. He needs help from someone else at the position, and Harry Douglas needs to step up.
Douglas has eclipsed 30 yards in a game just twice all season. That's not good enough from a veteran you're depending on to lead a primarily inexperienced receiving corps.
The effort was also questionable from Douglas to break up the first interception by Mettenberger last week, which was a heave to the end zone.
Douglas is due for a big game and to draw some attention from Green-Beckham and Walker.
Defensive X-Factor for Titans: Jurrell Casey
You can make a reasonable argument that Casey got snubbed from the Pro Bowl. Players shouldn't need chips on their shoulders to play hard, but Casey will have one nonetheless in this game.
Casey has seven sacks on the season and has proven to be one of the most consistently productive players on the entire Titans roster. He needs to be the ultimate pest in the backfield, while also clogging up the middle to disrupt the running game.
The Titans defense has been unimpressive the last couple weeks, and Casey is the guy that can get this unit back on track. If he plays well, the score can be kept low enough to give the Titans a good chance at snagging a win.
Prediction: Titans 16, Texans 14
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It was a sloppy offensive affair the first time these teams met in early November. The Texans were also in the midst of an ugly 2-5 start, but they've found their groove since then.
Mettenberger is no stranger to facing the Texans, and you have to think that he's eventually going to break through. All things considered, Mettenberger was actually pretty efficient at throwing the football in the first meeting (22-of-31), but he was afforded almost no time to throw as he was sacked seven times.
Since Mularkey has taken over, this team has made modest strides in protecting the quarterback. There's obviously a lot more room for improvement, and they've shown some over the last meeting.
Mettenberger will have to be smart in how he handles the pressure that will come his way. He can't try to make throws that aren't there, and needs to instead show better alertness to get rid of the football safely. He should be primed for one of the better starts of his career.
All of the pressure is on the first-place Texans, and there's really no pressure on the Titans. Divisional games are never shoo-ins, no matter how big the talent gap may appear on paper. The Titans will come ready to complicate things even more in the AFC South.
Everyone wants to point out the issues that Tennessee is facing at quarterback, but things aren't necessarily rolling along smoothly for the Texans at this position, either. The Titans will create a lot of pressure on Brian Hoyer or Brandon Weeden, and this will make it a closely contested, low-scoring game. That benefits the Titans on their home field.
Even the slightest of improvements in pass protection will make this a much closer game than the 14-point margin of victory that the Texans had in Week 8.
Things will get even more interesting in the AFC South race as the Titans will get up off the mat and get a surprising win behind the effort of their defense and Mettenberger avoiding the big mistake.
Prediction: Titans 16, Texans 14
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