The Houston Texans dominated the Tennessee Titans to keep pace for the wild card race in the AFC. Houston only had a minor blemish at the start of the third quarter as the Titans managed to score 14 to make the game look closer than it was. Tennessee played this game without three of their starting offensive lineman as they struggled to contain J.J. Watt.
Now lets look at the standouts from this game
Tennessee Titans – Performances of Note
Will Svitek, LT: -6.6
Breakdown: Will Svitek was signed in the middle of October after starting left tackle Michael Roos was put on IR. Once rookie left tackle Taylor Lewan was injured in last week's game the Titans had to insert Svitek at left tackle and the Texans took advantage of this matchup all game long. Houston placed Watt over the stand-in tackle for the majority of the game's passing situations creating a mismatch as Svitek was beaten inside and outside allowing two sacks, four hits and two hurries.
Signature Play: Q4 9:57. Svitek is beaten to outside as Watt records the strip-sack on Jake Locker.
Sammie Lee Hill, NT +2.0
Breakdown: Sammie Lee Hiil lined up against Chris Myers for the second time this season. In the first matchup, Myers dominated Hill all day, as he was able to seal the cutback hole with ease. However, in the rematch Hill was the victor as he was able to affect and take away some of the cutback runs and managed to record five stops on 18 run snaps.
Signature Play: Q3 11:43. Hill pushes Myers into the backfield and is able to record a tackle for a loss of 4 yards.
Jake Locker, QB: -3.4
Breakdown: Jake Locker saw his first action since Week 5 of the season. Put in a difficult situation down 17 points with Watt on a tear, but Locker's first attempt was a quick pass to Kendall Wright that was late and behind the receiver, allowing Jumal Rolle to break on the pass to pick it off.
Signature Stat: On passes thrown in under 2.5 seconds, Locker had a QB Rating of 12.0 compared to a QB Rating of 158.3 on passes of 2.6 seconds or more.
Houston Texans – Performances of Note
Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB: +7.5
Breakdown: After being benched for Ryan Mallet, Ryan Fitzpatrick produced like good-Fitz on his return to the starting role. Dominating the game with crisp short passes, he also took some deep shots to De’Andre Hopkins.
Signature Stat: Fitzpatrick solved the Titans' secondary, flashing an Accuracy Percentage of 84.8%; four of his nine incompletions where drops.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR: +7.6
Breakdown: After the beat-down Hopkins gave the Titans' secondary, he grade is currently tied for the best we have ever given to a wide receiver in a single game (pending mid-week reviews). Hopkins was targeted nine times and caught all nine passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns. The Titans attempted to cover Hopkins with Blidi Wreh-Wilson but he was no match, giving up all four targets for 132 yards and a touchdown.
Signature Play: Q4, 11:57. Hopkins shows his well-rounded skill set as he takes a 5-yard crossing route 56 yards and sets up the Texans for another touchdown.
J.J. Watt, DE: +10.1
Breakdown: In the run game, J.J. Watt was not a factor for most of the game as the Titans found ways to run away from him. However, he more than made his presence felt as a pass rusher where he recorded two sacks, four hits, three hurries and a forced/recovered fumble. With four games left, Watt has once again proved he is the best player in the game, now its time to see if Watt can break the +100 grade barrier on the year.
Signature Stat: Watt leads all 3-4 DE in Pass Rushing Productivity this week with a 25.9 and is third across all positions behind Aaron Lynch and Jonathan Newsome
PFF Game Ball
The PFF Game Ball goes to De’Andre Hopkins and Ryan Fitzpatrick as they teamed up to take it to the Titans' secondary.
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