Texans inch closer towards playoff berth with 26-3 win over Tennessee

The Houston Texans recently achieved a season sweep of their American Football Conference (AFC) South rivals, the Tennessee Titans, with a decisive 26-3 victory at NRG Stadium. This crucial win comes on the heels of the Texans' disruption of "Oilers Day" in Nashville just two weeks prior and places Houston one game away from securing a spot in the playoffs.

Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud made a successful return from concussion protocol to deliver a performance that included 213 passing yards and one touchdown. On the defensive front, the Texans once again compelled Titans' Will Levis to conclude the match prematurely and rendered rusher Derrick Henry more pedestrian than powerhouse. With this victory, Houston has exceeded its average win tally from the past three seasons and is poised to finish 2023 as a 10-win team should they triumph over the Jacksonville Jaguars next year.

Sports Illustrated reports that while the Titans have no tangible stakes left this season, they would relish ending the year by snatching a win from the Jaguars. If Houston manages to defeat the Indianapolis Colts on January 7, it will secure its first playoff berth since 2019. In conjunction with a potential Jacksonville loss, this could also lead to the Texans clinching their first division title since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We've got to appreciate the work that we put in, but at the same time, just get one at a time," Stroud said according to Sports Illustrated. "I want to keep building for hopefully making the playoffs and that's definitely the goal and just go from there."