Texans vs. Titans: Tennessee Grades, Notes and Quotes

It's hard to turn in your worst showing of the season when you're coming in at 3-11, but that's exactly what the Tennessee Titans managed to do, suffering a 34-6 loss to the Houston Texans.

The Titans were complete no-shows in their 2015 home finale, leaving their record at Nissan Stadium at a dismal 1-7. 

Things got out of hand quickly when Antonio Andrews fumbled early in the first quarter, which led to a defensive touchdown for Houston. The Titans never recovered from that, even though there was virtually an entire game to still be played.

The panic button was pressed early, and Tennessee couldn't handle the adversity. It basically summed up the entire season to date. 

A road game next week against the Indianapolis Colts will close out a disastrous year for this organization.

Position Grades for Titans

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

Quarterback: D+

Don't let Zach Mettenberger's moderate passing numbers fool you—he was wildly inaccurate for most of the game. He never seemed comfortable, despite much better pass protection then he saw in his last start against Houston.

We saw how valuable Marcus Mariota is to this team by how this game turned out. The ineptitude of the Tennessee offense was staggering, and Mettenberger looked lost. A meaningless touchdown throw near the end of the game did little to restore any faith in him as a trustworthy backup quarterback.

Running Back: F

What little confidence was lingering in the Tennessee running game was completely lost when Antonio Andrews fumbled on the opening possession. It led to a defensive score for Houston and came after the Titans had gained a first down to open the game.

Andrews was subsequently benched for the rest of the game, leaving rookie David Cobb with most of the action. The unit as a whole saw just 11 carries. 

Wide Receiver: D

Harry Douglas put up just 79 yards despite seeing 12 targets from Mettenberger. You can't put it all on them, though, as Mettenberger missed a lot of open receivers.

The big backbreaker was when Kendall Wright exited the game with a knee injury. The nonexistent rushing attack also allowed Houston to put all of its chips on defending the pass and rushing the quarterback.

Dorial Green-Beckham was held without a catch and only saw three targets.

Tight End: C

It's hard to find a silver lining in this game, but Delanie Walker did inch closer to reaching the 1,000-yard plateau for the season. He had a game-high nine receptions for 59 yards. That leaves him just six yards shy of 1,000. You can't help but be impressed by what he's accomplished on such a poor roster.

Offensive Line: C+

You can't pin this loss on poor pass protection by the offensive line. The Tennessee coaching staff made successful adjustments from the last time these two teams met, a game in which Houston managed seven sacks. It had just one in this game. 

One of the few positives to take away from this game was better pass protection, per John Glennon of the Tennessean.

Defensive Line: C-

It was a quiet game from this unit. It got very little pressure on Brandon Weeden, which left him with plenty of time to connect with seven different receivers. To its credit, it was dealt a bad hand by its offensive teammates by turning the ball over and putting its back against the wall.

Jurrell Casey led the position group with six tackles.

Linebacker: C

Big props is owed to rookie J.R. Tavai for notching his first career sack, also forcing a fumble on the play. Many fans were probably wondering who he was when that play occurred.

This has been the brightest spot of the entire team, but the unit is looking more and more tired as the season comes to a close.

Secondary: F

There's no sugarcoating how horrid the secondary has been in 2015. It has struggled to contain virtually every team's No. 1 receiver, and often the secondary option, as well.

DeAndre Hopkins had his way with Coty Sensabaugh, and Houston took advantage of that when it needed to.

If a below-average quarterback like Weeden can have such a great day against this secondary, then there's probably not an NFL quarterback it can have success against. 

Special Teams: F

Another failing grade must go to special teams. It's been a problem all year for a team that has very little room for error.

Harry Douglas' fumbled punt return came at the worst possible time. The Tennessee defense had just responded to the early fumble by forcing a Houston punt. The score was just 7-0, and the crowd was still energized at this point. This fumble put the defense in another difficult situation, but it held Houston to a field goal.

These types of mishaps crush the spirits of struggling teams like the Titans. They psychologically seemed to never recover from this costly mistake.

Coaching: D

You can always find a reason to give interim head coaches a pass when things don't go right. They're coaching a bad team, otherwise they wouldn't be in that position in the first place.

With that said, it's Mike Mularkey's job to hold the team together through these troubling times. The fact that this team doesn't even seem to have a pulse is what's troubling about his stint as interim head coach. 

There was no fight in this team as a collective group, and that falls on Mularkey's shoulders. 

Kendall Wright Suffers Another Injury

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

Kendall Wright was coming into the 2015 season with high expectations as the team's No. 1 receiver. He finally had a viable quarterback to get him the ball, and things looked bright after his Week 1 performance.

Things have quickly gone downhill since that Week 1 outing against Tampa Bay. 

Wright returned to action this week against the Texans, but he barely got to enjoy it. He was quickly knocked out of the game with an apparent knee injury after making a short reception. He was ruled out as the game was unfolding, and his status for the season finale is unclear, per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com.

It put the Tennessee offense in a precarious position, as it lost another weapon for Mettenberger. Harry Douglas was the beneficiary of the void Wright left, as he saw 12 targets. 

Don't expect Wright to suit up for the season finale and risk further aggravating a knee injury in a game with little meaning. It's more important to get vital game experience for the younger receivers.

Zach Mettenberger Expects to Play in Week 17

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

It's hard to watch a quarterback walk to the podium after the game we saw Zach Mettenberger have. His numbers don't tell the whole story. He had no answers on how to attack the Houston defense, other than occasionally connecting with short throws that meant nothing.

Mettenberger is now 0-9 as a starter, including an 0-4 record against the Texans. Despite that, his confidence still seems to be there. He thinks he's the guy to start in the season finale, per Glennon.

His performance isn't what should allow him to start in Week 17. He's done nothing to give himself the benefit of the doubt in starting over Marcus Mariota. However, he should get the start by default, as it logically wouldn't make sense to risk Mariota's future health. 

Mettenberger desperately needs to get this monkey off his back and finally get a win as an NFL starter. Season finales always have the potential to have quirky finishes, but the Colts might have a division crown to play for.

Titans Finish 1-7 at Home

James Kenney/Associated Press

You won't accomplish much of anything in the NFL if you can't take care of business at home. But playing at home has lost its advantage for the Titans over the last two years. In fact, it's regularly become a home away from home for many opposing fans. 

We'll know that this franchise is starting to turn a corner when it starts taking advantage of playing in the friendly confines of Nissan Stadium. 

Even with a 3-11 team, the Titans faithful were in full support of their team in this game. They made plenty of noise up until halftime when the game was out of reach. This fanbase is hungry for a team that can protect its own house, and that's an area the Titans have to show improvement on when the new head coach arrives next season.

The Titans are now 2-14 over their last two seasons at home. Winning games at home would be a start to getting this franchise trending back in the right direction. 

Mike Mularkey Taking the Blame

James Kenney/Associated Press

It's worth repeating that you can't put all of the blame on the shoulders of Mike Mularkey. He's an interim head coach that inherited a bad situation. You can argue that he hasn't done much to fix the problems, but that's as far as you can go with it.

Mularkey commented on getting the message across to the players when preparing for these games, per Jason Wolf of the Tennessean: ""I'm not getting the message clearly across for what has to happen for us to win the game. ... That's my job."

The odds were low from the start that he would win this job for 2016, but he's still auditioning for jobs elsewhere. With so many injuries leaving him with an inexperienced roster, he's fighting a tough battle. Losses like this always point you in the wrong direction, regardless of the circumstances. 

Harry Douglas on Eliminating Mistakes

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

You can never put the entire blame on one player, but it's difficult not to look in the direction of Harry Douglas when analyzing what went wrong.

Douglas had a critical fumble on a punt return when the Titans were trailing by just seven and had just forced a Houston punt. Things quickly unraveled after this turnover by one of the few offensive veterans.

When your offense is stuck in neutral like the Titans, you can't give easy points to the other team. You have to make them earn it, and turnovers like the Douglas fumble make things easier for an opponent that doesn't need any help.

Douglas talked about these mishaps, per Wyatt: “We have to eliminate the mistakes—you can’t spot them 10 points. We just have to play better.”

These 10 points were obviously not the only reason the Titans lost. They went into halftime down 17-0 and followed that up with a horrendous third quarter. It was painfully obvious that this team's energy and momentum were destroyed after the two early fumbles.

Brian Orakpo on Finishing the Season Strong

Weston Kenney/Associated Press

There have been a few bright spots when looking over the Tennessee defense, and Brian Orakpo is one of them. His production took an unfortunate dip after the loss of Derrick Morgan, who lines up as the other outside linebacker. 

Orakpo shared his thoughts about next season and the team's finish to 2015, per the Titans' official website: "Get guys back healthy, kind of reload in the offseason, and give it a better shot next year. So that’s the main point of us finishing strong, to finish this Colts’ game strong."

You can't help but think about the subject of "tanking" when you're tied for the league's worst record heading into Week 17. That's where the Titans will be when entering their last game of the regular season.

The Titans are guaranteed to get another top-five draft pick, so there's no reason to lose on purpose for the No. 1 overall pick. Building some confidence and getting the satisfying taste of a win is more important for these young players. There will be a highly rated prospect available for the Titans to pick, regardless of how they finish off this season.