Texans at Titans
THE STORY: The AFC South is shaping up to be a two-team race, with the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans the only teams in the division not in the middle of the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. The Texans started off strong in their bid for a first playoff berth but have stalled lately as injuries have taken their toll. The Titans moved into first place by default last week, sitting idle while Houston fell to Baltimore. Tennessee went into its bye with a crushing loss to Pittsburgh and has plenty of room for improvement, especially in a rushing attack that ranks last in the NFL. The Titans will be looking to open a gap in the division when they host Houston on Sunday.
TV: CBS, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Titans -3, O/U 44.5
ABOUT THE TEXANS (3-3): When it beat Pittsburgh to improve to 3-1 on Oct. 2, Houston looked like the class of the South and a possible contender for the entire AFC. Two straight losses have brought that projection back down to earth. The loss of Mario Williams for the season after a loss to Oakland on Oct. 9 did the defense no favors. The passing game is off as well with WR Andre Johnson still out due to a hamstring injury and quarterback Matt Schaub fighting a chest injury.
ABOUT THE TITANS (3-2): Chris Johnson has one 100-yard rushing game this season after holding out for a big contract extension in the preseason. Johnson’s struggles combined with WR Kenny Britt’s season-ending injury have the offense thin on playmakers. Johnson did manage to find the end zone for the first time before the bye in a 38-17 loss to the Steelers. The Titans’ biggest concern might be on the other side of the ball, where they were gashed for 174 yards on the ground by Pittsburgh and now have to stop Arian Foster.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Johnson rushed for five yards on seven carries at Houston on Nov. 28, 2010, but recovered to post 130 yards in a home win the next month.
2. Foster did the opposite, bursting for 143 yards at home and slowing to 15 yards on 11 carries in the December meeting.
3. Schaub has 11 TDs and one interception in his last five starts against the Titans.