Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans, Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX
Sunday, November 28, 2010, 1:00 pm EST, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Texans -6
Current Line: Texans -6.5
Opening Total: 46.5
Current Total: 45.5
Money Line: Texans -275 / Titans +235
The Houston Texans (4-6) might have the worst pass defense in the NFL, but the Tennessee Titans (5-5) could have trouble taking advantage of that when the AFC South rivals meet on Sunday. A season-ending thumb injury for Tennessee quarterback Vince Young means third-stringer Rusty Smith will make his first career start against the Texans (-6.5), who will be trying to break a four-game losing streak.
Houston is surrendering more than 300 passing yards per game to opponents this season and has faced a few of the NFL’s best quarterbacks during the recent skid, including Indy’s Peyton Manning and San Diego’s Philip Rivers. Last week against the Jets, the Texans allowed New York quarterback Mark Sanchez to throw for 315 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-27 win. Sanchez connected with wide receiver Santonio Holmes on a six-yard touchdown catch with 10 seconds remaining for the game-winning score after throwing his only pick a few minutes earlier.
Smith is a rookie out of Florida Atlantic who completed 3 of 9 passes for 62 yards for the Titans in relief of Young last week. He also threw an interception and will look to get wide receiver Randy Moss involved after he failed to register a catch last week in a 19-16 overtime loss to Washington at home. Moss has only one catch in two games with his new team since being claimed off waivers from Minnesota.
Tennessee also has one of the league’s top running backs in Chris Johnson, who has rushed for 247 yards in the last two weeks despite losing both games. Johnson averaged 174 yards in two meetings with Houston last year with the teams splitting those games.
The Texans have not had much trouble scoring during their losing streak but have struggled mightily on defense, giving up 29 points or more in each of the four games. In fact, opponents have averaged nearly 31 points in the last six games against Houston, going 5-1 straight-up and against the spread. The last three games have all been decided by a touchdown or less.
The team has scored progressively more points in the last four games after dipping to 17 following a 35-31 win over Kansas City in Week 6. Running back Arian Foster remains a bright spot for the Texans, totaling a career-high 1,004 yards on the ground so far with 13 touchdowns. The Titans rank 11th in the NFL in run defense though, allowing an average of 103.5 rushing yards per game. Tennessee’s pass defense ranks 26th (258.7 yards per game), so Houston quarterback Matt Schaub and wide receiver Andre Johnson could be in for a big day.
The Titans are 6-2 straight-up and against the spread in the last eight meetings with the Texans, although they have split the last four both SU & ATS the previous two years. The OVER is also 6-2 in the last eight games between the teams.
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