Heading into the final 15 minutes in week four against the Tennessee Titans, the Texans had six points, no wins and a lot of questions about where the 2025 season was headed.
Then, the Texans scored 20 points in the final quarter of a 26-0 shutout win over Tennessee and slowly but surely got off the schneid in the 2025 season. Now, sitting on the precipice of .500 for the season, it's time to face the Titans again, this time in Nashville.
The Titans are coming off of a bye week, two weeks after challenging the talented 7-3 Los Angeles Chargers in Nashville. They battled hard, losing by just seven in one of the Titans best performances of the season. So, what Titans team shows up this week? The one that the Texans shut out in September or the one that had the Chargers stressed in the fourth quarter two weeks ago?
Thankfully, the Texans have played well in Nashville prior to this meeting. The Texans lost just one time (the COVID season) since 2019 and won last year in week 18 with a scaled down roster 23-14. QB Davis Mills didn't start that day, but he played most of that game and he'll start again on Sunday in place of C.J. Stroud, who remains in the concussion protocol. Mills won his last start in Nashville and led the Texans to 16 points in a 23-14 win.
It's time to get even more against the Titans during the Texans 24th trip to the Music City (the Texans are 21-13 since 2008 against Tennessee). As such, let's get to Know the Texans' Week 11 Foe - the Tennessee Titans.
2025 Tennessee Titans Schedule (1-8)
- Week 1 - L @ Denver Broncos 20-12
- Week 2 - L Los Angeles Rams 33-19
- Week 3 - L Indianapolis Colts 41-20
- Week 4 - L @ Houston Texans 26-0
- Week 5 - W @ Arizona Cardinals 22-21
- Week 6 - L @ Las Vegas Raiders 20-10
- Week 7 - L New England Patriots 31-13
- Week 8 - L @ Indianapolis Colts 38-14
- Week 9 - L Los Angeles Chargers 27-20
- Week 10 - BYE WEEK
- Week 11 - Houston Texans
- Week 12 - Seattle Seahawks
- Week 13 - Jacksonville Jaguars
- Week 14 - @ Cleveland Browns
- Week 15 - @ San Francisco 49ers
- Week 16 - Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 17 - New Orleans Saints
- Week 18 - @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Titans OFFENSE (in 2025 regular season)
- Rushing Yards Per game - 81.2 ypg (31st in the NFL)
- Passing Yards Per game - 162.8 ypg (31st)
- Total offense per game - 244.0 ypg (32nd)
- Turnovers lost - 13 (6 INT, 7 Fumbles lost)
Expected Titans starting offense for Week 11
- QB - CAM WARD
- RB - Tony Pollard or Tyjae Spears
- WR - Calvin Ridley
- WR - CHIMERE DIKE
- WR - ELIC AYOMANOR
- TE - Chig Okonkwo
- LT - DAN MOORE
- LG - Peter Skoronski
- C - Lloyd Cushenberry III
- RG - KEVIN ZEITLER
- RT - JC Latham
Other Key Offensive pieces
- TE - GUNNAR HELM
- WR - VAN JEFFERSON
- RB - Kalel Mullings
- OG - Blake Hance
- OT - OLI UDOH
- C - Corey Levin
- QB - BRANDON ALLEN
Italics - Rookie
ALL CAPS - New to team in 2025
Keys to winning v. the Titans Offense
- Now that we've danced once… - On the third play of the first matchup with the Titans, Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. drew a bead on Titans rookie QB Cam Ward. The Titans gunslinger seemed to be Anderson Jr's next sack victim but Ward broke away from Anderson Jr's tackle, gathered himself and threw downfield to fellow rookie WR Elic Ayomanor for 33 yards. I remember thinking 'Man, we all KNOW that's what Ward does, how did that happen?" Then, it hit me how much TALKING about it means so little until encountering it for real. Ward is thick and strong and loves to keep plays alive, sloughing defenders off with ease after he drops to throw…before hitting deep balls for big plays or even touchdowns. The Texans coaching staff hammered home Ward's off platform, creative abilities, but they had to see it, FEEL it for real. Now, the Texans defenders know, and have experienced, what Ward does so darn well. He led the first dance, but it's time for the Texans defenders to lead their dance henceforth.
- Spears and Pollard - The Texans defense shut out the Titans in the first meeting, but the Titans did average 4.6 yards per carry on their 18 carries. Ward accounted for 22 yards on two runs, but RB Tony Pollard piled up 64 yards on just 14 carries. The Titans now have Tyjae Spears back in the fold and that's worrisome for the Texans defense. Jaguars RB Travis Etienne didn't go HAM on the Texans defense, but he had moments when he gashed the Texans defensive front. And, if there's a way for Tennessee to win this game, it's for their offense to control the ball on the ground with their two talented backs and a dual threat QB, capable of more in the run game.
- Rookie Hands - At this point in the season, as DeMeco Ryans told us on his Coach's Radio Show, there is no such thing as a rookie. So, let's state this one this way - Tennessee first year pass catchers have taken over as the most impactful playmakers on this offense. Calvin Ridley is WR1, but Ward targeted Ayomanor seven times in the first matchup. Chimere Dike, a former Graham Mertz target, has seen more and more action next to Ayomanor and is a stud in the return game. TE Gunnar Helm had seven catches through the first four weeks, but he has nearly doubled that number in the five games since (13 for 120 yards and a TD). The rookies, errrr, first years will set the tone for this Tennessee offense for a long time.
Titans DEFENSE (in 2025 regular season)
- Rushing Yards Allowed Per game - 141.3 ypg (27th in the NFL)
- Passing Yards Allowed Per game - 215.3 ypg (17th)
- Total offense Allowed per game - 356.7 ypg (25th)
- Turnovers generated - 10 (5 INT, 5 Fumble recoveries - Titans are -3 in TO margin)
Expected Titans starting defense for Week 11
- OLB - Arden Key
- DE - Sebastian Joseph-Day
- NT - T'Vondre Sweat
- DT - Jeffery Simmons (Been injured, missed practice earlier in the week)
- OLB - JIHAD WARD
- LB - CODY BARTON
- LB - Cedric Gray
- CB - L'Jarius Sneed or Darrell Baker Jr.
- S - KEVIN WINSTON JR.
- S - Amani Hooker
- S - XAVIER WOODS (Been injured, missed practice earlier in the week)
- CB - JALYN ARMOUR-DAVIS or MARCUS HARRIS
Other Key Defensive pieces
DE - James Lynch
DT - SHY TUTTLE
OLB - FEMI OLADEJO
LB - James Williams
OLB - Jaylen Harrell
S - Mike Brown
Italics - Rookie
ALL CAPS - New to team in 2025
Keys to winning v. the Titans' Defense
- Will he or won't he? It MATTERS! - Titans star DT Jeffery Simmons is arguably the best player in the AFC South and has been for years. He's a dominant interior player who can play any position on the defensive line. He has wrecked the Texans offensive front more times than I care to admit. In the first matchup, Simmons continued being a massive problem for the Texans front. He sacked Stroud so quickly in the first half of the first game that it appeared that he knew the exact play the Texans called. That play went viral nearly immediately and, even though he's been banged up and missed practice on Wednesday, he was back on Thursday in a limited capacity at practice. His presence changes everything for a defense that desperately needs him on the field. The Texans offensive line continues to look for the proper fit and as it continues to work toward continuity, it also has to focus on #98…unfortunately.
- Gray matter - In our weekly interview with EVP/GM Nick Caserio this week, he made a distinct point about the progress of second year LB Cedric Gray. I studied him closely coming out of North Carolina for the 2024 NFL Draft and thought he would fit well as a future three down linebacker in this league. He didn't play much in 2024, but he stepped right into a starting spot in 2025 and has THRIVED. There were plenty of times in the first matchup when #33 ran through a ball carrier impressively. He finished the game with 17 tackles, one TFL and one QB hit. He can fly, has great instincts and is becoming the leader of this defense. The Texans run the ball well when they can get a hat on linebackers consistently. Gray makes that awfully difficult, like he did in the first matchup.
- D Milly, again! - Texans QB Davis Mills will start again this week, the second time in as many weeks, and there's little question that he was more comfortable in his start against Jacksonville than he was when he came into the game after Stroud was hurt against Denver. Now, some of that was due to rust. Some of that was Denver possessing a STELLAR defense. Some of it was finding the right puzzle pieces for Mills to put together. But, in the second half against the Jaguars, in particular, Mills got hot and he stayed in rhythm all the way through the remainder of the game. When Mills struggled a little bit early in the Jags game, OC Nick Caley chose to move the pocket, on a boot, and Mills threw a dart to Jaylin Noel which got Mills rolling. Given the fact that Mills is starting for just the second time since 2022, I'd expect Caley to continue to look for the RIGHT plays and RIGHT mix for Mills and the Texans offense, even if it's a bit different than what was successful against Jacksonville.
