Winners and losers of Titans 20, Texans 17

It's hard to overestimate the importance of this win for the Titans in 2018. The FiveThirtyEight study I quoted earlier this week revealed that teams that started in 1-1 scored the playoffs 41% against only 12% for 0-2 teams. In addition to staying out of 0-2, the Titans won a decisive victory despite their absence of tackle at the start, their tackle at the start, their tackle of backup, their tight start and their starting quarter.

This team has shown incredible courage and strength in the face of adversity after suffering one of the most daunting losses in recent history. It would have been easy to find excuses and to be sorry for them in this case, but they did not do it, even when the Texans got 17 unanswered points to take the lead in the 4th quarter. They remained composed and fought for victory. Titans fans should be proud of the way this team has responded to a difficult week.

Without further ado, here are the winners and losers of Titans 20, Texans 17:

winners

Mike Vrabel

This one is easy. Vrabel stole a match that his team no longer had to win with excellent coaching. First, he called Marcus Mariota. Although we did not know how close he could have been today, I would say that he was in uniform while the backup quarterback told us he was close. However, with reports Saturday night and Sunday morning that Mariota was still struggling to catch the ball, it is safe to say that he was probably not going to proclaim himself if he was playing and another week of rest without endangering it could do a lot of good in a long-term perspective.

The players of both teams put Vrabel to the test after the match, the Ben Jones center giving his coach the ball. The game plan also included wrinkles. A fake boot and an out-of-the-ordinary appearance of the Wildcat package among the most important. The Titans' coaches handled the game perfectly, protecting their backup pads and bringing a largely error-free performance from their quarterback.

Things got a little bumpy in the second half when the offense scored three and three straight, but they managed to move the ball effectively when it mattered most, without asking Blaine Gabbert too much.

Vrabel was aggressive with the false punt call and converted two 4th duels (including one in his own 32-yard line). The Titans never had an aggressive head coach, so seeing some of the bold calls that Vrabel made against Houston was a welcome change from the Mularkey era.

Mike Vrabel and his team did a fantastic coaching job this week.

Blaine Gabbert

Gabbert's statistics were not very good in this match. He finished 13th out of 20 for a total of 117 yards and a touchdown, but he played without football and made some clutch games when the team needed it late.

There is no controversy on the quarters to be sure. Marcus Mariota gives this team the best chance of winning, but Gabbert has managed to do his job today in a huge position against a quality defense.

Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor

The Titans' second-year receivers had a big impact against the Texans. Davis led the team for a second straight week and turned his 7 targets into 5 assists for 55 yards. It may not sound as impressive, but it has had two huge catches on Titans' winning record and is starting to look like a No. 1 receiver.

A week after just 9 shots in attack, Taywan Taylor was a much bigger part of the game plan against Houston. The former Western Kentucky 3rd round pick has three passes for 32 yards and one touchdown. The touchdown was a thing of beauty since Taylor took a simple screen and did miss several Texans on a weaving path to the end zone.

I'm a big fan of Taylor's talent and I think games like this will make it harder and harder for coaches. Taylor needs to touch 5+ every game.

Jurrell Casey, Kamalei Correa, and Harold Landry

The Titans manage to make the biggest of the game, which prevents Deshaun Watson from feeling comfortable in the pocket. They ended up collecting 4 bags and adding 9 kicks as well as pressing on other buttons. Casey led the group with 2 sacks and added another shot and a tackle for the loss in what was a great game for the Titans' defensive tackle. We're used to Casey being great at this point, but that does not mean we should stop enjoying it.

Kamalei Correa had a good start to Titans in Miami with another good performance this week. He got a bag for a second game in a row and added 2 tackles for the loss and 2 hits. Correa has already earned the choice of the 6th round 2019 that Jon Robinson has abandoned for him just before the resumption of the day, but on the basis of the first returns, I think he's got a chance to play for the Titans at l & # 39; outside. .

Speaking of long-term plays, Harold Landry made his debut today and despite finishing the game without a tackle or sack, it was hard not to notice. He had 2 shots of QB and was constantly in the Texas backfield helping to make games like this.

Landry had such an impact that the Texans were actively attacked against him almost at the end of the match. This guy is going to be a stud and if the Titans can continue to develop it, Correa and rookie Sharif Finch, they could be put to this post for years to come.

(Speaking of Finch, he has been active against Aaron Wallace against Houston and this gives us an idea of ​​how much they love their discovery of UDFA.)

Offensive Line Coach Keith Carter and Offensive Coordinator Matt LaFleur

The Titans are in two games of the 2018 season and the offensive line has allowed only one bag despite the fact that Taylor Lewan and Jack Conklin have not been guilty of most shots. The merit is certainly due to the reserved pleadings Kevin Pamphile, Dennis Kelly and Tyler Marz, who answered the call, but when an entire unit is playing at this level, his coaches are doing something right.

The Titans' race match was never really against Houston, but the Texans did not worry that Gabbert would beat them up. Carter does a fantastic job preparing his offensive linemen and LaFleur puts his players in a position to succeed with his offensive game plans.

Dane Cruikshank

Cruikshank was presented as an Ace of potential special teams when the Titans recruited him on lap 5 and he is already showing lightning of this kind just two games in his NFL career. Obviously, he managed Kevin Byard's pass, which resulted in a touchdown at the beginning of the game, but he also added a fantastic tackle on the dive cover later in the game.

Losers

Malcolm Butler

It's hard to get a lot of losers after a win like this, but Butler gave a long touch for the second week in a row, but this time he did not have the big interception to make up for the delay. His reputation for expansion or overflow was very early, but I'm sure the Titans would like to limit busts to less than one a week.

Rashaan Evans

Evans did nothing wrong with the Texans, he did nothing at all. I'll have to wait for the official countdown to go out, but I was looking for number 54 all day and I've never seen him go between the lines despite being one of 46 active players.

It will be interesting to see why Evans has never been on the ground. Maybe the Titans wanted to be very careful with their hamstrings or maybe they were not feeling ready. Whatever the reason, Evans's development does not seem to be where the Titans would like him to be.

Jadeveon Clowney

Clowney was inactive today while he was dealing with back and elbow problems, but he still managed to be called for a key penalty. Clowney mocked tight Titans winger Luke Stocker after being knocked down by the Texans sideline. This happens less than a year after talking about trash with LeShaun Sims just moments before the Titans' corner intercepted the match.

Maybe Clowney should try to do more walking and talk less when he visits Nashville. If you think about it, keep making Clowney.