The Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans will do battle for the second and final time this season when they meet at NRG Stadium in Week 17 on Sunday.
The first meeting between these two teams saw the C.J. Stroud-less Texans pull off an upset over the Titans at Nissan Stadium, which subsequently eliminated Tennessee from playoff contention for the second straight year.
While we were robbed of a Stroud versus Will Levis showdown in Week 15 after the former sat out due to a concussion, it looks like we’ll get that this time around.
Stroud told reporters on Thursday that he’s cleared the concussion protocol and plans to start. Meanwhile, Levis logged his second full practice in as many days and appeared to be moving well.
Adding even more juice to this game is the fact that the Texans are battling for a playoff spot in the AFC. Houston is sitting in third place in the division due to tie-breaker and owns the No. 8 spot in the conference.
Sportsbooks consider the Texans the favorite to win this game, but do experts from different media outlets think the Titans can pull off an upset? Find out now as we go through our weekly round-up of expert picks and predictions.
USA TODAY
Jarrett Bell: Texans
Chris Bumbaca: Texans
Nate Davis: Texans
Safid Deen: Texans
Tyler Dragon: Texans
Victoria Hernandez: Texans
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Texans
Lorenzo Reyes: Texans
NFL.com
Ali Bhanpuri: Texans
Brooke Cersosimo: Texans
Dan Parr: Texans
Gennaro Filice: Texans
Tom Blair: Texans
CBS Sports
Pete Prisco: Texans 27, Titans 26 – “The Titans might have Will Levis back for this one, while the Texans will have C.J. Stroud back as well. That would pit the two rookie quarterbacks against each other for the first time. The Texans beat the Titans two weeks ago with Case Keenum at quarterback. It was tight. This will be as well, no matter who plays quarterback for the Titans.”
Will Brinson: Texans
Jared Dubin: Texans
Ryan Wilson: Texans
John Breech: Texans
Tyler Sullivan: Texans
Dave Richard: Texans
Jamey Eisenberg: Texans
Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report’s Week 17 picks
Gary Davenport: Texans
Brad Gagnon: Texans
Ian Hanford: Texans
Kristopher Knox: Texans
Maurice Moton: Texans
Wes O’Donnell: Texans
Brent Sobleski: Texans
ESPN
Stephania Bell: Texans
Matt Bowen: Texans
Mike Clay: Texans
Jeremy Fowler: Texans
Dan Graziano: Texans
Kimberly A. Martin: Texans
Eric Moody: Texans
Jason Reid: Texans
Lindsey Thiry: Texans
Sam Wickersham: Titans
MMQB
Albert Breer: Texans
Mitch Goldich: Titans
Claire Kuwana: Texans
Gilberto Manzano: Texans
Conor Orr: Titans
John Pluym: Texans
Matt Verderame: Texans
Pro Football Talk
Pro Football Talk’s Week 17 picks
Mike Florio: Texans
Chris Simms: Texans
The Sporting News
The Sporting News’ Week 17 picks
Vinnie Iyer: Texans 20, Titans 17 – “The Titans will keep showing good fight with Mike Vrabel but the offense just doesn’t have enough juice beyond the run with either QB. They will keep playing tough defense and might get a break with C.J. Stroud uncertain to return from his concussion. Houston will be desperate to grind through a division game to keep its playoff hopes alive with a defensive rebound.”
Bill Bender: Texans 26, Titans 21 – “This is a rematch from a Week 15 matchup the Texans won 19-16, and C.J. Stroud (concussion) could return after a two-game absence. Ryan Tannehill took six sacks last week in his return to the starting job, and the Titans have suffered seven one-score losses this season. We’ll trust the Texans to keep their AFC South hopes alive.”
The 33rd Team
Ryan Reynolds: Texans 27, Titans 20 – “Two weeks ago, the Houston Texans clipped the Tennessee Titans 19-16 with Case Keenum under center. Houston’s defense carried that effort. C.J. Stroud is trending toward making his return this week. He can shred Tennessee’s vulnerable secondary if he gets stable pass protection. Simply put, Houston has several paths to victory in this matchup if Stroud is back.”
Overall expert tally
Number of experts picking Texans: 47
Number of experts picking Titans: 3
