After the Texans spoiled the party for the Oilers in week 15 in the debut of their retro uniform, they meet again in Houston, where both franchises are originally from, with the Titans looking for revenge and to complicate the playoffs for their divisional rivals.
The game two weeks ago seemed to be decided for the locals who were celebrating the premiere of their new uniform but the visitors took it to overtime to win it, here is the summary. Let's remember that this is also a duel of coaches who were former players, particularly both DeMeco Ryans and Mike Vrabel were linebackers for the teams they coach today during their active years in the NFL .
How are they coming?
The Titans after the surprising victory over the Dolphins have lost 2 consecutive losses to place themselves with a 5-10 record and are practically eliminated from the postseason, curiously one of those losses was against the team they will face on Sunday and they can still spoil the party for the Texans who with an 8-7 record and the return of their quarterback see more possibilities.
Houston , on the other hand, is coming off a huge loss to the Cleveland Browns, who are on fire and have their rookie wonder C.J. Stroud back.
Players to watch
Will Levis: The QB trained this Wednesday after missing the last two games of his team and leaving injured precisely against the Texans, the former Kentucky has earned the starting position in Vrabel' s team and the reality is that he gives more to the team than Ryan Tannehill or Malik Willis, being explosive in the air and depending less on Derrick Henry.
C.J. Stroud: Speaking of rookies and explosive aerial game, the former Ohio State will be back for this game after going through the concussion protocol, remember that before leaving injured against the Jets the rookie was leading the league in yards and with the best TD-INT balance in the league. We will have to see if he comes back well because he has lost his best weapon in Tank Dell for the rest of the season but Houston' s aspirations to return to the Playoffs rest on the QB.
Keys to the game
Ground game: Devin Singletary averages over 4.5 yards per carry in the last two games plus Dameon Pierce' s recent involvement on special teams where he returned a kickoff for TD could complicate a Tennessee defense not solid against the run.
Ball exchange: C.J. Stroud is the least intercepted QB in the league (counting games he missed) and Mike Vrabel' s defense isthe worst at intercepting the ball with only 4 aerial exchanges all year.
Derrick Henry Factor: The RB had several 200+ yd games against the Texans but in Week 15 the DeMeco Ryans defense limited him to one of his worst games of the year, we will have to see if the aerial game allows Henry to run against this defense or execute the Play-Action.
