The Tennessee Titans are about the ugliest 5-2 you could possibly imagine after a Week 8 win over the Houston Texans, but at the end of the day they are in first place in the AFC South and currently hold the No. 2 seed in the AFC, which is crazy to think about.
Tennessee’s passing attack was putrid once again, but an unstoppable rushing attack carried the unit on Sunday. And, once again, the defense saved the day with what was arguably its best performance of 2022.
The Titans now bring their five-game winning streak into Arrowhead next week, where they’ll face the Kansas City Chiefs, who are 5-2 and one spot behind Tennessee in the AFC playoff standings. The winner will have sole possession of the No. 2 seed going into Week 10.
But before we start looking ahead to next Sunday night, let’s take a look back at the winners and losers from the team’s Week 8 victory over the Texans.
Winner: RB Derrick Henry (and the offensive line)
Going into a Week 8 matchup against a Texans team that Derrick Henry always dominates, we fully expected The King to reign supreme again.
And he didn’t disappoint. Henry ran wild against Houston on Sunday, finishing with 219 yards and two scores.
Not only was it Henry’s fourth-straight 200-yard, two-touchdown game versus Houston, breaking his own NFL record, he also broke the franchise record for most touchdowns and is now the all-time rushing yards leader against the Texans, surpassing Chris Johnson.
The King just keeps adding to his Hall-of-Fame resume.
Of course, you can’t have a rushing performance like Henry’s without good blocking upfront. Shutout to the big boys.
Winner: DL Jeffery Simmons
Simmons was supposedly playing hurt in this game after coming down with an ankle injury in Week 7 and not practicing all week, but he looked perfectly fine to me.
Simmons was dominant all game long, whether it was against the run or pass. He had one sack and two tackles for loss, one of which saw him tackle Dameon Pierce with his own offensive lineman.
With his sack, Simmons now owns the team lead with 5.5. If this was BIG JEFF on a bum ankle, imagine what he would’ve done if he was fully healthy.
Loser: QB Malik Willis
Willis had a lot to overcome in his first career NFL start from the jump thanks to a shoddy offensive line and receiving corps., but his overall performance showed us why he needs at least a year to develop.
Willis struggled with accuracy in the 10 pass attempts he did throw, and one of his misfires led to an interception. The rookie also held on to the ball for too long on some occasions, leading to a few sacks.
Willis’ pick came on a play where he could’ve hit Cody Hollister over the middle of the field, but his throw was late and behind Hollister. He also missed a potential big play to Chig Okonkwo thanks to an overthrow.
This performance doesn’t hurt my belief in Willis, as he stepped into a less-than-ideal situation with Tennessee’s offense struggling mightily to begin with.
It just reinforces what we already knew: he isn’t ready for the bright lights of the NFL just yet.
Winner: Titans' defense
As has been the case in each of the Titans’ five straight wins, the defense stepped up big time on Sunday.
Tennessee’s unit completely shut down Houston’s offense in all phases en route to the Texans tallying just 161 total yards, including 43 on the ground. A lot of that total yards number came in garbage time, also.
The secondary forced a turnover and was excellent in coverage, and the front chipped-in with three sacks on top of dominant run defense. In all, this might’ve been the best all-around showing from the defense in 2022.
Loser: WR Robert Woods
Woods wasn’t able to do much to help out his rookie quarterback with just two catches for 26 yards, but he also fumbled a punt return that set Houston up in Tennessee territory.
Thankfully, Tennessee’s defense bailed him out, but this team cannot afford turnovers like that with the way this offense is playing, and turnovers like that are exactly how you lose to worse teams.
Winner: CB Kristian Fulton
Fulton came up with one of the biggest plays of the game in the first quarter when he notched an interception off David Mills with the Texans driving in Tennessee territory.
The LSU product made a beautiful play by fighting through a rub route to jump Mills’ pass and pick it off at the Titans’ 31-yard line.
Fulton finished the game with three tackles (one for loss), two passes defensed, and the interception.
Loser: K Randy Bullock
Bullock has been a pretty reliable kicker during his tenure in Nashville but on Sunday he reminded us of his limitations, which are longer field goals.
On the Titans’ opening drive, Bullock attempted and missed a 53-yard field goal but was bailed out by a Texans penalty. On his second attempt from 48 yards, Bullock was wide right again.
Bullock has attempted and made just one from 50 yards since coming to the Titans, and he’s 8-14 on field goals of 40-plus yards. While the Titans’ punter has a monster leg, their kicker does not.
Winner: QB Ryan Tannehill
A potential quarterback controversy was in the back of Titans fans’ minds going into Week 8 with Willis starting for an injured Tannehill, but we can put those thoughts to bed for now.
Willis did nothing to suggest that he gives this team a better chance to win, but we didn’t expect him to. Anyone who thought Willis would be ready for primetime this early was kidding themselves.
If nothing else, this game made us appreciate Tannehill more. His job is very much safe for at least the remainder of the season.
