The Houston Texans made mistakes all over the field in their 32-27 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, marking their third defeat in the last four games.
C.J. Stroud threw two interceptions, the defense allowed several big passing plays, and Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 28-yard field goal that would have tied the game late.
“Just a disappointing loss for us,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We didn’t do anything well enough to win this game. Out of all the positives that we did have, there were way too many negatives, too many negative plays.”
Jimmie Ward had a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter, and the Texans tied a franchise record with eight sacks. Danielle Hunter led the way with three sacks, and Will Anderson Jr. added two after returning from an ankle injury. However, the offense struggled for most of the game, with Joe Mixon gaining only 22 yards on 14 carries.
Ryans did not blame the offense for the loss, saying, “Our offense did plenty. They gave us enough points. On defense, we have to be able to stop them.”
The Titans (3-8) went ahead 30-27 with 9½ minutes left when Chig Okonkwo caught a short pass and broke a tackle to run 70 yards for a touchdown. Eric Murray missed a key tackle on the play that could have stopped Okonkwo near midfield.
That was one of three long passing plays the Titans had. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine caught a 38-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, and Calvin Ridley had a 63-yard reception that set up another touchdown in the second.
“It was just way too many negative plays,” Ryans said. “Defensively, unexplainable explosives for touchdowns. We didn’t play good across the board and that starts with me.”
Despite everything that went wrong, the Texans (7-5) still had a chance to tie the game with less than two minutes left. However, Fairbairn’s field goal attempt missed wide left. He dropped to the ground after the miss, then got up and slammed his helmet.
“The most frustrating part about it is out of all the bad things that happened, we still had a chance to finish the game,” Ryans said. “Everything that could go wrong, it went wrong. We still had a chance there to tie it up and finish the game, and we didn’t.”
The Texans forced a three-and-out but couldn’t move the ball after that. Harold Landry sacked Stroud in the end zone for a safety, making it 32-27 and sealing the win for the Titans, ending their two-game losing streak.
Stroud threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns, but his two interceptions on Sunday bring his total to nine on the season, more than he had all of last year (five).
“It’s no secret that I haven’t been playing well … I’ve got to be harder on myself,” Stroud said. “I’m not going to hold my head down. I know I can be a great player, but I’ve got to make better plays.”
