NFL Week 4: Titans at Texans — Four Things To Watch For

The two teams play each other twice every season, but over the recent seasons, the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans have played each other in very few important games. The fact of the matter is, since 2020, when the Titans have been competitive (2020-2022), the Texans have been awful, and when the Texans have been good (2023-2024), the Titans have been the dregs of the league. 

With these two franchises seemingly despising each other, from ownership of each team on down, it would be fun to have a game where the two teams come in evenly matched. But not this way, not with both teams limping in at 0-3 this Sunday at NRG Stadium. In a series of games through the last couple seasons where the winning side hasn’t been afraid to talk smack, the winner of this one likely has very little to brag about, especially if the winner is the Houston Texans. 

The Titans come into this game with a struggling rookie quarterback, a first time play caller, and a beleaguered head coach who might get shown the door by midseason. The Texans are well below expectations in nearly every area as a team, especially on offense, and enter the game as a seven point favorite. They play the Ravens next week, and then have a bye. 

In other words, the Texans have to win this game, or this season could start looking a lot like 2013, when a talented Texans team still managed to lose 14 games in a row to finish 2-14. Here are four things to watch for on Sunday: 

4. What are the vibes in NRG Stadium? 
At 0-3, Houston Texans fans are angry. They’re angry at GM Nick Caserio, they’re angry at OC Nick Caley, and they’re even angry at prodigal son DeMeco Ryans. I am here to tell you, the fact that fans are angry is a GOOD thing, because if the Texans lose to the Titans on Sunday, anger will devolve into apathy, and that is the worst emotion that a fan base can have. At least anger implies they care. How does the anger translate on Sunday in the stadium? Will the always slow-arriving NRG crowd arrive even later than usual. Do the Texans hear boos if they go three and out on the first series. It should be a fascinating case study. 

3. Can we get a clean game, please? 
DeMeco Ryans has promised us that., if the Texans play a cleaner brand of football, they’ll win games. Hell, he even said multiple times this past week that the team is “close.” I know this — the offense isn’t close to anything resembling “close.” Penalties, mental errors, and missed assignments have been the norm on offense. More disturbingly, the defense has made its share of errors, as well, although a big chunk of the missed assignments in the secondary walked out the door with the release of C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Tuesday. Still, bette

2. New Titans play caller 
Three weeks into the season, Titans head coach Brian Callahan has already ceded play calling duties on offense, handing that responsibility to quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree. Before you completely begin salivating at the vision of Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter murdering a rookie quarterback being fed plays by a new play caller, know that Hardegree had success as a play caller in Las Vegas two seasons ago, on an interim basis, after the Raiders fired Josh McDaniels. The Raiders increased their scoring by nearly a touchdown per game on Hardegree’s watch. Still, this should be a real chance for the Texans defense to have one of those signature dominant home performances they had last season. 

1. Texans offense going up tempo? 
The Texans are last in the league in scoring, and they’ve arrived at this point with almost zero creativity or juice. Their offense is a pathetic, boring product. So imagine my excitement when I saw Demeco Ryans say this about the upcoming game: