Know Your Foe: Texans at Titans Week 5 Preview and Keys to Victory

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I never, NEVER would've thought it back at the outset of training camp. However absurd it would've sounded back in July, the Texans are playing the Titans in Week 5…and one team will get their first win of the 2026 season.

Those are nearly the exact words that I wrote back in September 2025 when the Texans and the Titans locked horns as winless teams in Reliant Stadium in Week 4 of last season. The Texans won that day and then won 11 of their next 13 games to finish the 2025 season 12-5. Can they get on a similar run starting this week? Not the right question, John. The right question is whether the Texans can just go 1-0 this week against a bruised, but hungry, Tennessee team looking for the first win of the Robert Saleh era.

Titans QB Cam Ward has had moments in the first four weeks of the year, but has been unable to string things together consistently enough to get Tennessee a win. On the flip side, the Texans defense, the best in the NFL in 2025, has struggled to get back to its normal self in 2026. So, which one wins out in the expected rain of Nashville on Sunday?

Here's hoping the good guys wearing Liberty white will get it done, but it's either going to be the Texans or the Titans getting win number one on the season. As such, let's get to Know the Texans' Week 5 Foe – the Tennessee Titans.

2026 Tennessee Titans Schedule (0-4)

• Week 1 – L New York Jets 23-10
• Week 2 – L Philadelphia Eagles 24-20
• Week 3 – L @ New York Giants 12-7
• Week 4 – L @ Baltimore Ravens 24-18
• Week 5 – Houston Texans
• Week 6 – @ Indianapolis Colts
• Week 7 – Cleveland Browns
• Week 8 – @ Cincinnati Bengals
• Week 9 – BYE WEEK
• Week 10 – Jacksonville Jaguars
• Week 11 – @ Dallas Cowboys
• Week 12 – @ Jacksonville Jaguars
• Week 13 – Washington Commanders
• Week 14 – @ Detroit Lions
• Week 15 – Indianapolis Colts
• Week 16 – @ Las Vegas Raiders
• Week 17 – Pittsburgh Steelers
• Week 18 – @ Houston Texans

Titans Offense (2026 Regular Season)

• Rushing yards per game – 89.0 ypg (26th in the NFL)
• Passing yards per game – 172.3 ypg (29th)
• Total offense per game – 261.3 ypg (32nd)
• Turnovers lost – 5 (2 INT, 3 fumbles lost)

Expected Titans Starting Offense for Week 5

• QB – Cam Ward
• RB – Tony Pollard
• WR – WAN'DALE ROBINSON
• WR – CARNELL TATE
• WR – Elic Ayomanor
• TE – Gunnar Helm
• LT – Dan Moore Jr.
• LG – Peter Skoronski
• C – AUSTIN SCHLOTTMANN
• RG – ATONIO MAFI
• RT – J.C. Latham

Other key offensive pieces

• RB – Tyjae Spears
• WR – Calvin Ridley
• WR – Chimere Dike
• TE – DANIEL BELLINGER
• T – JAMES HUDSON III

Italics – Rookie ALL CAPS – New to team in 2026

Keys to Winning vs. the Titans Offense

1. The #1 – From the day that he took his first snap under center for the Tennessee Titans, a searing hot spotlight has been on QB Cam Ward. He's so uber-talented, but he's struggling with the seemingly routine QB stuff. He'll make the throw back across the field for a first down that goes viral on social media. But, he's missing open receivers in straight drop back situations. That's been the Cam Ward experience since he took over at Incarnate Word in 2021 – there are highlight plays galore, but the down-in-down-out mechanics of playing the position have escaped him on a consistent basis, especially at the NFL level. He has tools that other QBs envy, but when will his play level out such that the Tennessee Titans' offense can thrive? Here's hoping that doesn't happen on Sunday.

2. Bet you didn't know… – There are two RBs in the NFL that have rushed for 1,000 yards each of the last four years. If you guessed Derrick Henry, well, yeah, that makes sense. But, how long would it have taken you to get to Tony Pollard? All day? That's the answer – Henry and Pollard. The Texans defense will face Henry later in the season, but the challenge is stopping Pollard this week. Now, he hasn't ripped a hole in defenses that he's faced, but he's been consistent. He's averaging 4.1 yards per carry, after averaging 4.5, 4.2, 4.0 and 5.2 yards per carry in his four 1,000-yard seasons. He's bigger than he looks on film and he's tougher to bring down than he appears. The Texans run defense, other than in the low red zone, has been excellent, but Pollard is a tough out and he'll get the ball 15-17 times on Sunday.

3. They meet again – Prior to the 2024 NFL Draft, I asked Will Anderson Jr., former Alabama All-American edge rusher, to give me a quick draft thought on future NFL T J.C. Latham. He recounted a story for me showing how much better Latham was throughout his Alabama career. A week or so after our discussion, Latham became a Titan and would eventually tangle with Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter two times a year. The hulking offensive tackle went through some ups and downs in his first two years, but in year three it's starting to click for him. He looks so much more comfortable in both pass protection and run blocking. He's such a large human being that when he gets hands on a defender, it's hard to disengage. This Anderson/Hunter v. Latham battle will be a huge key in this first matchup of 2026.

Titans Defense (2026 Regular Season)

• Rushing yards allowed per game – 122.8 ypg (24th in the NFL)
• Passing yards allowed per game – 209.8 ypg (13th)
• Total offense allowed per game – 322.5 ypg (15th)
• Turnovers generated – 2 (2 INT – Titans are -3 in TO margin)

Expected Titans Starting Defense for Week 5

• Edge – JERMAINE JOHNSON II
• DT – JOHN FRANKLIN-MYERS
• DT – Jeffery Simmons
• Edge – JACOB MARTIN
• LB – ANTHONY HILL JR.
• LB – Cedric Gray/Cody Barton
• CB – ALONTAE TAYLOR
• S – Kevin Winston Jr.
• S – Armani Hooker
• Nickel – Marcus Harris
• CB – CORDALE FLOTT

Other key defensive pieces

• DE – Femi Oladejo
• DT – SOLOMON THOMAS
• DE – KELDRIC FAULK
• S – TONY ADAMS

Italics – Rookie ALL CAPS – New to team in 2026

Keys to Winning vs. the Titans Defense

1. The ONE problem – Being in the sports radio industry for as long as I have, it's easy to dream up hypothetical situations that'll never come true…but are fun to think about. So, I used to do this one a lot – you can eliminate one player from each team on the Texans schedule. Some teams I would've struggled, perhaps hemmed and hawed throughout the exercise, but not the Titans. My answer since 2022 would be the same – Titans star DT Jeffery Simmons and if it hadn't been for Derrick Henry, it would've been Simmons his entire eight-year career. He 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. However, the key is to frustrate him early in the game to keep him from impacting a potential close game in the second half. The Texans have to do a better job of occupying Simmons at the snap and all the way through the play. If that takes two IOL, so be it – the Texans can't allow a repeat of what Dexter Lawrence did to them in Week 2. DO NOT let Simmons wreck the game, no matter what.

2. Who…again? – Last year, former Titans CB L'Jarius Sneed was repeatedly asked by the Titans inquiring media members about Texans WR Nico Collins. Sneed replied "Who?" A few minutes later, he was asked again about Nico, and Sneed repeated his love for Pete Townshend's band, The Who: "Who?" Bad move. All Nico did was catch 13 passes for 171 yards and a TD in two meetings against Sneed's former employer. The Titans learned their lesson so don't expect any Titans CB to give Nico any bulletin board material after what happened last year. Regardless, the Titans are going to have their hands full with the Texans Pro Bowl receiver. One play into the matchup with the Cowboys in his first game since the Week 1 opener, Nico snatched a pass across the middle and took off on a 45-yard catch-and-run jaunt. He missed two games, but in the two that he's played (BUF, DAL), he caught 14 passes for 193 yards and three TDs. He makes ALL the difference in the world for this Texans offense and the Titans CBs will have their hands full.

3. His name is C.J. – Texans QB C.J. Stroud has been in the league since 2023, but he's played a total of 11 snaps in three contests against the Titans in Nashville. He played one drive against the Titans in the 2024 finale in Nashville, but as the Texans had secured the AFC South title, he only played a handful of plays to stay sharp in a game that didn't matter. The other two matchups he was unavailable to play due to injury so the Titans fans are going to get a full dose of the Texans gunslinger. He's played some of his best football this season but the challenge in this matchup might be twofold for C.J. – Simmons and a much more talented defensive roster and Tropical Storm Isaias. As a result of the tropical storm, a heavy dose of rain is projected for much of the game on Sunday. It's going to put a major PREMIUM on ball handling and ball security for the Texans quarterback in this contest.