Titans rally past Texans in OT, set up 5-0 showdown with Steelers

AP photo by Wade Payne / Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (22) is congratulated by teammates after he scored the winning touchdown against the Houston Texans in overtime Sunday in Nashville. The Titans won the matchup of AFC South rivals 42-36 to improve to 5-0, the second-best start in franchise history.
AP photo by Wade Payne / Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (22) is congratulated by teammates after he scored the winning touchdown against the Houston Texans in overtime Sunday in Nashville. The Titans won the matchup of AFC South rivals 42-36 to improve to 5-0, the second-best start in franchise history.

NASHVILLE - Expectations for Derrick Henry already are pretty high, with his history of mighty stiff-arms and long touchdown runs.

The NFL's 2019 rushing leader keeps finding new ways to top himself in 2020, and he's taking the Tennessee Titans along with him again.

Henry took a direct snap and ran 5 yards for a touchdown 3:30 into overtime as the Titans remained undefeated, rallying to beat the Houston Texans 42-36 in Sunday's matchup of AFC South rivals at Nissan Stadium.

"Obviously, we all witnessed somebody taking a game over," Titans coach Mike Vrabel said of Henry, whose dominance crossed over from the 2019 regular season to the playoffs as he helped the team reach the AFC title game.

The Titans (5-0) needed Henry again Sunday, when they had plenty of mistakes to overcome: two turnovers, Stephen Gostkowski having one field-goal attempt blocked and missing another, and the defense giving up 335 passing yards and four touchdown passes to Deshaun Watson.

Watson's final touchdown put Houston (1-5) up 36-29 with 1:50 left, but his pass to Randall Cobb on the 2-point conversion attempt failed. Romeo Crennel, in his second game as interim coach since replacing the fired Bill O'Brien, said he went for the conversion in a bid to put the game out of reach.

Crennel, who had led the Texans to a division win against the Jacksonville Jaguars a week earlier, also didn't take a timeout before the winning touchdown by the Titans.

"That play was run in practice, and we should have been prepared," Crennel said of the wildcat formation with Henry behind center to cap a six-play, 82-yard drive.

Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill drove the offense 76 yards before finding A.J. Brown on a 6-yard touchdown pass with four seconds left in the fourth quarter. Gostkowski made the extra point, and the Texans fielded a squib kick to send a game the Titans led 21-10 at halftime into overtime.

Henry ran for 202 yards in regulation, including a 94-yard score. In overtime, he took a screen pass 53 yards on the second play. He finished with 212 yards on the ground and 52 receiving as the Titans improved to 16-0 when Henry, the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama, rushes for at least 100 yards.

Asked about his performance, Henry kept giving credit to his teammates.

"I just had to do my job," he said more than once.

Tannehill, who finished with 364 passing yards and four touchdown throws, is glad to be in the same backfield with him.

"He just has that rare size, strength and speed combination that it's extremely rare," the quarterback said.

It was a big part of another clutch performance by Tennessee, which won each of its first three games with a field goal in the final two minutes and routed the previously unbeaten Buffalo Bills this past Tuesday despite having 15 days off in between games.

Now the Titans have their second-best start in franchise history - only a 10-0 start in 2008 is better - and they are set to host the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-0) next Sunday in a pairing of the AFC's last two undefeated teams. That game was originally scheduled for Week 4 before being moved as a result of the Titans having the NFL's first COVID-19 outbreak.

The Texans are the two-time reigning AFC South champs, but the Titans took an important step toward winning their first division title since 2008.

"We did not finish the game on defense," Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said. "We had multiple opportunities, and we didn't do it. And as a leader of the defense, I put that squarely on my shoulders. So this one is very difficult to take."

Houston safety Justin Reid blocked a 27-yard field-goal attempt by Gostkowski, who later missed a 37-yarder wide left, in the third quarter to set up David Johnson's 1-yard touchdown run.

The Titans lost left tackle Taylor Lewan to an injured knee on the next drive, and Watt sacked Tannehill two plays later, stripping him of the ball. Jacob Martin recovered for Houston at the Tennessee 4, and Watson found Randall Cobb at the right pylon for a 4-yard connection and a 23-21 lead.

That started a scoring spree.

Henry broke off a 94-yard touchdown run, racing to the end zone in 14 seconds, and Watson answered two plays later with a 53-yard pass to Will Fuller for a 30-29 lead with 8:37 left.

The Titans, who finished the shootout with a 601-412 advantage in yards from scrimmage, now have scored at least 31 points in four straight games and came in ranked sixth in the NFL averaging 30.5 points a game. They scored in each of the first two quarters, extending their streak to 15 straight before going scoreless in the third.

They also have scored at least 42 points in back-to-back games for the first time since 1961, a year after the franchise debuted as the Houston Oilers.

The Titans had a handful of players back from the COVID-19 reserve list: receivers Cam Batson and Adam Humphries, fullback Khari Blasingame, cornerback Kristian Fulton and defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons. From the active roster, only wide receiver Corey Davis and tight end MyCole Pruitt remain on that list.

Lewan did not return after walking gingerly to the locker room, and tight end Jonnu Smith limped to the sideline to have his right foot and ankle retaped, but he did not return.

Upcoming Events