Houston Texans: Why They Must Beat the Tennessee Titans This Week

Ouch! 

Texans fans have definitely felt the resounding thud of a tough loss (or two) before.  What has been happening is the team continues to spiral out of control into a losing streak  For example, after losing a game that many people hoped they would win on Monday night against the Colts in Indianapolis, the Texans then dropped their next three games.  The losing streak stopped when the Texans beat the Titans, who, at the time, were led by Rusty Smith.

This is the time for the Texans to step up and assert themselves against a team that is ranked 19th in total offense and is only holding opposing teams to three yards less than the Texans defense. 

Everyone is well aware of the excuses the Texans can use as crutches.  However, a great team—even a good team—will over come several obstacles throughout the course of the season. In the end we all want the Texans to be great, and if they will ever be great under Gary Kubiak this is the time for them to step up and prove it.

The Texans, despite back-to-back losses, can truly make their mark on the division if they win the next two games (at Tennessee, then home for Jacksonville).  If they win both of those games they will be in first place in the division with a 3-0 record and a win over each team. 

With Jacksonville (currently 1-5) and the Colts (currently 0-6) out of the race for all intents and purposes, the Titans are the only real competition.  However, the Titans would have two losses in the division and they would have to come back to Houston for the final game of the season.

In addition to the reasons why they need this win there are several reasons why they should win.  The first and most important reason is that Chris Johnson has not been himself this year.  Johnson only has 250 yards through five games.  I'm not a mathematician but that should work out to just 50 yards per game.  If the Texans keep him under 100 yards there is no reason for them not to win the game.

Texans fans are worried about not having Andre Johnson, but the Titans have lost Kenny Britt for the entire season.  Despite Britt's off-field troubles and the fact he was adjusting to a new quarterback, Britt had 271 yards in the first two games of the season before he was injured in the third game.  While Johnson is a better receiver, he didn't have 271 yards in any two games this season.

With the pressure that Wade Phillip's defense has been putting on opposing teams there is no reason to think the Titans will be able to score enough to win.  If the Texans offense can find some rhythm and open holes for Arian Foster, the Texans should be able to run away with this one—and the division.