For as good as the Texans' win was last year at Tennessee in overtime with Case Keenum at the helm, this loss to the Titans was that exact feeling in the other direction. I'm numb right now. Regardless, there were still a handful of big plays in this loss, so let's break them down, starting with Play…Number…One.
1st quarter - Texans ball
14:47 remaining
No score…for now
1st and ten
+19 yard line
After a brilliant Dameon Pierce kickoff return for 80 yards, the Texans had a first and ten inside the red zone. They put 12 personnel on the field (one RB, two TE) and put the TEs in a YY wing situation to the right side. It appeared the Titans tried to play quarters to that alignment. On the snap, Dalton Schultz, who was lined up at the Y (on the line of scrimmage), ran a 12 yard in-route and that route caught the attention of the outside corner, who, if he was playing quarters, needed to pass that route to the safety (if not, then the LB to that side was supposed to carry TE - either way, not good for Tennessee). But, the CB went inside with Schultz. Bad move. Stover then ran the wheel route on the outside with no DB in the vicinity. The throw from QB C.J. Stroud was easy and on the money. Stover made the simple catch for his first NFL TD.
2nd quarter - Texans ball
6:22 remaining
Titans ahead 17-7
3rd and three
+Five-yard line
The Titans roared out to a 17-7 lead in the second quarter. So, after Tank Dell made a great catch on a deep BOMB earlier on this drive, it was imperative that the Texans put seven up on the board. They came out in 11 personnel (one RB, one TE). Said TE was Cade Stover and he was lined up as the Y-TE on the left side. The three WR - Nico Collins, Tank Dell and John Metchie - lined up in that order from outside-in. The Titans decided to match the routes out of the bunch set. Metchie ran a whip route, starting in and whipping back to the flat. Dell ran a corner route to the back pylon. But, the route that has been Nico Collins' calling card in the red zone was his back of the end zone in route. That's what he ran and he beat CB Darrell Baker Jr. to the inside and QB C.J. Stroud put the right amount of loft on the throw, allowing Collins to go make a play for the touchdown. The interesting part on this play was that Titans S Mike Brown saw where the throw was going and braced to make a hit on Collins. However, last week against Minnesota, Brown was penalized for a personal foul on a very similar play and it led to a Vikings TD later. It appeared that Brown was leery of that happening again, so he seemed to slow down, allowing Collins to make the catch without Brown making that same type hit to lodge the ball loose. Touchdown Texans, they were back in it!
3rd Quarter - Titans ball
0:15 remaining
Titans ahead 23-17
3rd and 11
+40-yard line
It was a rough afternoon for the offense so when the Titans kicked a field goal to make it 23-17, the Texans went three and out, then the D stopped the Titans. But, right after that, C.J. Stroud threw his second interception of the day, giving the Titans great field position to expand their lead. The Titans then lost a yard on the first two downs of the drive, setting up this 3rd and 11. Now, earlier in the game, the Titans had picked up a vital first down on this same, or similar, concept - double slants. The Texans looked to be playing quarters, so the whole key is the hook/flat defender, in this case Jimmie Ward, playing the nickel/star position with Jalen Pitre injured. If Ward dives hard to the inside slant, Levis would stick the slant to the outside receiver. If Ward stayed underneath the outside slant, the inside slant then is a much easier completion. But, Ward did the BEST thing; he squatted on the routes until he realized what was happening, then he broke back into the passing lane as QB Will Levis attempted to throw to WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on the outside slant. Ward played it perfectly, snatched the pass out of the air and ran 65-yards to the house to give the Texans a 24-23 lead, their first lead since 7-0 on the first offensive play of the game.
Man, seeing those plays back in my mind makes me upset that the Texans didn't win this game. Deserved to win it with the eight sacks, two fumble recoveries, the great start and a number of deep shots down the field. Didn't deserve to win with the inability to set the edge against the run, complete lack of a run game, the offensive interceptions deep in their own territory, short field goal miss and special teams/offensive penalties and mistakes. So, yeah, some huge plays that should've led to a 27-13 or 30-6 win, cost the Texans badly in a 32-27 loss. Heartbreaking against THAT team. Got to get it right next week in Jacksonville…no matter what.
