Texans 20, Titans 17
HOUSTON - In facing the league's hottest offense, the Houston Texans looked to the sport of baseball for their defensive strategy: don't give up the home run. Specifically, Houston looked to contain MVP-candidate Chris Johnson, who has topped the 2000 yard rushing mark already and scored 22 touchdowns.
Despite surrendering a 390 yards to the Tennessee offense and 198 total yards to Johnson, the Texans kept their rivals out of the endzone for most of the game, eking out a 20-17 win--just the second win against a human opponent in Texans history.
On the first play of the game, Houston running back Steve Slaton did his best Chris Johnson impression, ripping off a 46-yard run that put Houston well into Tennessee territory. As they have all season, however, the ball-hawking Titan defense forced a turnover:
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The Titans hit Matt Schaub as he threw, allowing Nick Harper to snag the wounded duck from the air and stop Houston's momentum. Houston held, though, and scored on their next possession with this 30-yard scamper by Slaton, giving Houston a 7-0 lead:
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Slaton finished the day with 12 rushes for 137 yards, including three runs over 20 yards.
Tennessee moved the ball well against the Texans defense, but had to settle for two field goals in the first half as Houston held onto a 10-6 lead. The Titan offense came out firing to start the second half, and Tennessee seemed poised to take the lead until quarterback Donovan McNabb made a critical mistake:
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Rookie cornerback Rakeem Jordan stepped in front of McNabb's pass and raced 87 yards for the score and a 17-9 Texans lead. The interception marred an otherwise strong outing from McNabb, who went 20-25 for 242 yards.
After another long Tennessee drive ended in a field goal to make the game 17-9, the Titans finally got their big play from Johnson. The speedy back turned a short pass into a big 42-yard gain:
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That led to a five-yard touchdown by Javon Wringer, and a successful two-point conversion tied the game at 17-17 midway through the fourth quarter. But Houston put together a long drive of their own, highlighted by a 42-yard pass to tight end Owen Daniels, that made it to the Tennesee one-yard line. Unable to punch the ball in, the Texans played it safe and kicked the field goal to make it 20-17 just before the two minute warning.
As they had all game, the Titans offense moved the ball down the field effectively. McNabb hit receiver Kenny Britt for a 34-yard gain and Johnson pushed the ball further and further toward the Houston goal line. Facing third and goal at the five, overtime seemed inevitable. Instead, the aggressive Titans--out of timeouts--decided to push for the win in regulation with a roll-out pass by McNabb:
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Finding no open receivers, McNabb attempted to take the ball in himself, but linebacker DeMeco Ryans stuffed him. Tennessee could not get set fast enough to spike the ball and time expired as the Texans notched their seventh win in the last eight games.
Tennessee finished the season by hosting the unbeaten Raiders, while Tennessee attempts to close out strong against the Steelers and their ferocious ground game.