Titans try to snap skid, protect AFC South lead vs. Texans

Updated Dec. 23, 2022 7:08 p.m. ET

Associated Press

HOUSTON (1-12-1) at TENNESSEE (7-7)

Saturday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Titans by 3 1/2.

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Texans 6-7-1, Titans 8-5-1.

SERIES RECORD: Titans lead 23-18.

LAST MEETING: Titans beat Texans 17-10 on Oct. 30 in Houston.

LAST WEEK: Texans lost 30-24 to Chiefs in OT; Titans lost 17-14 at Los Angeles Chargers.

TEXANS OFFENSE: OVERALL (31), RUSH (29), PASS (26), SCORING (30).

TEXANS DEFENSE: OVERALL (30), RUSH (32), PASS (19), SCORING (T-27).

TITANS OFFENSE: OVERALL (29), RUSH (15), PASS (29), SCORING (26).

TITANS DEFENSE: OVERALL (25), RUSH (2), PASS (32), SCORING (12).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Texans minus-4; Titans minus-1.

TEXANS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Davis Mills threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score last week in his second game back after being benched for two games. He has 300 or more yards passing in two of his past three road games. But he’s looking to clean up his mistakes after his fumble in overtime led to Kansas City’s win Sunday.

TITANS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Malik Willis. With veteran Ryan Tannehill out with an injured right ankle for the second time this season, the rookie will start his third game this season and second against Houston. Willis threw only one pass in the second half and was 6 of 10 for 55 yards in that first start. He looked much more comfortable filling in for Tannehill last week while the veteran got his ankle taped up.

KEY MATCHUP: The NFL's worst run defense against two-time league rushing champ Derrick Henry. Not only is Henry the NFL's second-leading rusher with 1,303 yards, he has run for at least 200 yards and at least two TDs in each of his past four games against Houston. Henry also is the first player ever to run for at least 150 yards in four straight games against the same opponent. Henry is averaging 167 yards from scrimmage in four games in the AFC South this season.

KEY INJURIES: Texans WR Brandin Cooks has missed the past three games with a calf injury, but now is questionable. ... Texans WR Nico Collins will miss his third game with a foot injury. ... The Titans listed 18 on their initial injury report, though Henry was limited for rest and not injury related. The Titans placed C Ben Jones and RG Nate Davis on injured reserve on consecutive days. The other three starters all are on the injury report. Rookies WR Treylon Burks and CB Tre Avery should be cleared from the concussion protocol that cost them two games. DL Denico Autry could return after four missed games with an injured knee. The Titans will have starting LB Zach Cunningham back after he was activated from injured reserve Friday.

SERIES NOTES: This game always matters with the Texans the team that replaced the Titans in Houston. The Titans have won two straight, both in Houston, and four of the past five.

STATS AND STUFF: Texans RB Royce Freeman led the team with 51 yards rushing in his season debut after being promoted from the practice squad after a season-ending injury to Dameon Pierce. ... Cooks has had at least 55 yards receiving in his past two games. He had 73 yards receiving in the first game against Tennessee this season. ... Collins has had at least five catches in three of his past four games. ... WR Chris Moore has had at least 70 yards receiving in two of his past three games on the road. He needs 20 yards receiving for his first 500-yard season. ... S Jalen Pitre needs 12 tackles Saturday to become the first rookie since 2000 to have 12 or more tackles in four consecutive games. He leads all rookies with 117 tackles and is the third rookie in franchise history to get 100 tackles. ... CB Tremon Smith had a career-high 11 tackles with a forced fumble, tackle for a loss and pass defended last week. He has forced a fumble in two of three games against the AFC South this season. ... Rookie LB Christian Harris had 14 tackles, including four tackles for losses — both career highs — last week. ... The Titans have used 27 different starters on defense. The Titans have held seven opponents to 17 points or fewer in seven games this season. ... Rookies have played 114 total games for the Titans this season, tied for fourth most in the NFL. ... Henry had 163 yards from scrimmage last week and ran for his 12th TD this season. That was the 18th game of his career with at least 150 yards from scrimmage and a TD, which is the most in the NFL since 2011. He also became the seventh player in NFL history with 8,000 yards rushing and at least 75 TD runs in his first 100 games. He joined Eric Dickerson, Jim Brown, Emmitt Smith, Shaun Alexander, LaDainian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson. ... Chig Okonkwo has set the Titans record for rookie tight ends with 374 yards receiving on 25 catches.

FANTASY TIP: Henry. A blast of frigid air along with gusting winds means this could be the coldest home game in franchise history. No amount of extra layers will help when it comes to tackling the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry, the first player with at least 150 yards rushing in four straight games against one opponent.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL