The Tennessee Titans honored their Oilers heritage by wearing throwback uniforms in a 23-14 loss to the Texans on Sunday, reminding many of a bruising, 232-pound back named Earl Campbell. Then, Tennessee finished the season holding the No. 1 overall selection in the draft.
Not much else went well for the Titans (3-14) on Sunday. Texans starter C.J. Stroud played one drive, going 6 of 6 for 50 yards and a 2-yard touchdown to Nico Collins before the quarterback gave way to backup Davis Mills. Houston (10-7) snapped a two-game losing streak and picked up important momentum entering the playoffs. The AFC’s No. 4 seed, the Texans will host either the Steelers or Chargers next week.
“Yeah, it was huge,” said Stroud, who finished with 3,727 passing yards despite injuries to several receivers. “We needed to come out and get that bad taste out of our mouths. I thought we came out strong.”
Houston’s playoff seeding clinched before kickoff, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said he would wait to see the game’s flow before pulling his starters. He needed just one series to retire Stroud and Joe Mixon, but not before the running back eclipsed 1,000 yards on the season. Mills took Houston the rest of the way, finishing 12 of 22 for 128 yards.
Dameon Pierce replaced Mixon and exploded for a 92-yard touchdown early in the second quarter to extend Houston’s lead to 13-0. Pierce ended the day with a career-best 176 rushing yards. Houston also got a scoop-and-score touchdown from defensive end Derek Barnett, the veteran’s second touchdown of the season and third of his career.
The Titans ended the season by tying a franchise-record with a 14th loss, their most since a 2-14 finish in 2014. Known as the Oilers until 1998, the last time the Titans franchise drafted in the top slot, Campbell was the choice in 1978. One of the most dominating backs in league history, Campbell recorded 9,407 career rushing yards on his way to the Hall of Fame.
During the common-draft era (1967-present), the franchise has just two No. 1-overall selections, Campbell and defensive end John Matuszak in 1973. After one season with the Oilers, Matuszak eventually wound up in Oakland and won two Super Bowls with the Raiders.
For more information on the Texans and Titans, visit the Houston and Tennessee team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
Discover more from Pro Football Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.