Well, I was thinking it might be 30-17. Instead, today's game at LP Field between the Titans and the Houston Texans ended with the Texans winning 24-10. They went up early, on a 58-yard touchdown pass where Michael Griffin went for the interception and missed on a play where he absolutely could not miss. Jake Locker got the Titans down to field goal range with the help of Jared Cook, then last seven pass attempts in the first quarter, at which point it was 14-3. The Titans got to field goal range in the middle of the second quarter, than Chris Johnson fumbled. The Titans forced a punt after an inadvertent whistle negated any return of the fumble, but Locker's pass was tipped, and the Texans turned starting at the 3 into a 21-3 lead. At that point, it was pretty much all over but the shouting. Locker would play better in the second half, finding Kenny Britt for a big score to cut the lead to 24-10, but that was it for the scoring.
Notes:
1. Offensive line injuries didn't help the Titans one bit. David Stewart broke his leg. Steve Hutchinson left the game for a while, though he returned briefly when Michael Roos was hurt (though Roos would quickly return). Fernando Velasco appeared to be shaken up on the last offensive play of the game. Backup guard Kevin Matthews, who had play extensively, was flagged for holding a couple times.
2. Free Jared Cook? If CBS's PBP is right, including plays negated by penalty, he had 15 targets. What counted: 4 catches, 51 yards. That's not good enough.
3. The Titans seemed to play Jared Cook and Craig Stevens at the same time a lot. Meanwhile, I didn't notice Collin Mooney in the game on offense, though I could easily have missed him for a couple plays.
4. The Titans almost seemed to be holding rolling safety auditions throughout the game to see who played next to Michael Griffin. Jordan Babineaux, Al Afalava, and Robert Johnson, who would be carted off late, all played and played early.
5. Matt Schaub, 0 sacks on 36 dropbacks.
Bottom line: a pretty good team beat a not very good one today.
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