Titans @ Texans
Final Score: Titans 32 – 27 Texans
Writer: Christian Otteman (@COttemanPL on Twitter)
With all the insanity that occurred in this game, it was somehow (maybe) the third-craziest game in the early afternoon slate. While the Texans easily got on the board on the first play from scrimmage, this was anything but a walk in the park for Houston. This game was a back-and-forth contest all day, with both teams trading blows and committing comical mistakes for the entire 60 minutes. Both Will Levis and C.J. Stroud made several mistakes throughout the day to turn the ball over, with the most crucial coming when Stroud stepped out of the back of the end zone a la Dan Orlovsky to give the Titans a safety to seal the improbable victory. The Texans blew a chance to take a commanding lead in their division and will look to get back on track on the road in Jacksonville next week. The Titans, meanwhile, will travel to Landover to take on the reeling Commanders.
Three Up
- Nico Collins – It’s great to see the stud Michigan product return to form and look like a true alpha WR1. If he stops having long TDs called back, he’ll be posting ridiculous numbers.
- Tony Pollard – After a stinker last week, Pollard shouldered the load for the Titans with Tyjae Spears out. Pollard made big plays consistently and was a huge part of the Titans’ victory. The former Cowboy is having a great season for Tennessee.
- Will Levis – It wasn’t perfect, but Levis looked the part of an NFL quarterback on Sunday. He was sacked approximately 1000 times but still made several big throws and (mostly) minimized mistakes to keep the Titans within striking distance.
Two Down
- Joe Mixon – An abysmal performance for Mixon on Sunday, turning 14 carries into just 22 yards. This is two of the past three games in which Mixon has found no room to run on the ground. In the other, he scored 3 touchdowns against Dallas. He’ll be fine, but this wasn’t anything near what his owners were hoping for today.
- C.J. Stroud – It may be a bit unfair to include Stroud here, as it was his best performance in several weeks, but he still didn’t quite look like his confident rookie self, even with Nico Collins fully returning to form tonight. He had a couple of costly turnovers and pulled a Dan Orlovsky to seal the game for the Titans. This was just the fourth time this season Stroud has thrown multiple TD passes.
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
Will Levis: 18/24, 278 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT | 8 carries, 10 yards | 1 fumble lost
Remember in the early goings of this season when Will Levis was the butt of seemingly every joke? Well, things have somewhat turned around for the Mayo-loving QB. Levis looked the part of a starting-caliber QB today, leading his team to an improbable division road win. It seemed there were two outcomes on every Levis dropback: either he found a receiver with a well-placed pass or he was dropped for a sack. Levis’s offensive line did him no favors, as the Titans’ QB was taken down a whopping 8 times. When he did connect with his receivers, they often went for big gains–he had two long touchdowns to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (again) and Chig Okonkwo. Levis did have a class Levis Moment when he threw a pick-six at the end of the third quarter to give the Texans back the lead. Still, this was a step in the right direction for Levis, who has advanced from “avoid at all costs” to “worth streaming in Superflex leagues.” Take a look at that playoff schedule–you could certainly do worse for a second QB in a pinch.
https://twitter.com/HoustonTexans/status/1860779495671677263
Running Back
Tony Pollard: 24 carries, 119 yards, 1 TD | 3/5 receiving, 10 yards
Tony Pollard continued his career season on Sunday with his second 100-yard performance and fourth touchdown of the season. Pollard looked strong and hit the gaps with speed, especially on his touchdown run early in the game. This was the Pollard we’ve grown to love this season, and as long as he maintains a strong share of the workload, he can be started as an RB2 with RB1 upside (again, that playoff schedule!) for the remainder of the season. If Spears is active next week, we will want to keep an eye on how that backfield split looks, but Pollard should still be in your lineups against Washington.
Julius Chestnut: 1 carry, 3 yards | 1/1 receiving, 2 yards
Nothing fantasy-relevant here.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Calvin Ridley: 5/6 receiving, 93 yards
Calvin Ridley continues to thrive as the #1 receiver for the Titans, falling just short of the 100-yard mark in this contest. He continues to find ways to get open deep downfield and has developed a solid chemistry with Levis to connect more often than not on those deep looks. Due to the nature of his QB and the depth of his targets, Ridley is a semi-boom-or-bust option as a guy who can post WR1 numbers on any given week but is also at risk of some disappointing performances if he and Levis don’t connect. He profiles as a WR2 for next week’s matchup against the Commanders, which could turn into a high-scoring affair.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine: 2/5 receiving, 48 yards, 1 TD
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine continued a torrid scoring pace on Sunday, catching a deep ball from Levis for his sixth touchdown in his last seven games. We’ve preached caution in starting NWI on this website before, and I’m going to continue to push that recommendation. Chasing touchdowns for a player who catches so few passes every week could spell disaster for your team if you catch him on a week where he doesn’t find the end zone. Still, at a certain point, you have to admit there’s a trend in the Titans scheming deep shots for NWI every game. If you’re in a league that starts 3 WRs and multiple FLEX options, he could be used as a flier during Week 14’s byes–just don’t do it next week when all 32 teams are playing.
Chig Okonkwo: 1/2 receiving, 70 yards, 1 TD
Chig Okonkwo took his only reception on a slant route 70 yards to the house, turning on the jets to get past the Texans’ secondary. It was his first TD since Week 1, which was the only other week he’s finished above TE17. He’s a TD-or-bust option and not a very reliable one at that.
Tyler Boyd: 6/6 receiving, 55 yards | 0/1 passing
The veteran recorded season highs across the board today in terms of targets, receptions, and yardage. A solid performance, but there simply have to be better options for you and your lineup elsewhere.
Nick Vannett: 0/1 receiving
Houston Texans
Quarterback
C.J. Stroud: 20/33, 247 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT | 3 carries, 18 yards
A touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to Cade Stover got Stroud’s day started on just about as good of a note as one could hope. Unfortunately, Stroud would make some key mistakes during this game that prevented him from reaching his fantasy potential once again. Not only did Stroud throw two interceptions, but he also ran out of the back of the end zone for a safety to essentially end the game. This was the best fantasy output Stroud has had since Week 6, but he’s still only reached 20 fantasy points once this season. The matchup against Jacksonville next week is tasty, but the next three weeks are the Texans’ BYE, followed by two tough matchups against the Dolphins and Chiefs. It appears we’ll be looking at this season as a classic sophomore slump for the standout Ohio State product. Hopefully, he can recapture his rookie magic in 2025.
Running Back
Joe Mixon: 14 carries, 22 yards | 5/6 receiving, 23 yards
A truly brutal day on the ground for Joe Mixon against the Titans, who, to their credit, allow the third-fewest yards per carry in the league against running backs. The Texans found themselves down early, partially explaining the lack of volume and efficiency from Mixon today. He at least partially salvaged his day for PPR owners with a handful of grabs. Better days are ahead for one of the highest-upside players at the RB position–sometimes, these clunkers just happen.
Dameon Pierce: 0 carries
Pierce had a nice kickoff return to start the game and get the Texans in position to score immediately. However, Pierce had no touches on offense and does not hold any value in fantasy.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Nico Collins: 5/9 receiving, 92 yards, 1 TD
Things were quiet for Nico Collins to start the day, but he found his way into the end zone in the 2nd quarter to bring the Texans back within three. Collins truly looked like his old self in this one, using his size, strength, and speed to make impacts all over the field. His day could (and should) have been even better if he didn’t have a second touchdown called back for an illegal shift. This marks two straight weeks in which Collins has had a long score called back due to a penalty. Ugh. If there was any doubt Collins was still feeling the effects of his injury, those worries should be gone after this performance. He’s a top-tier option at the position for the rest of the season.
Tank Dell: 3/5 receiving, 72 yards
This is the type of line we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from Dell this season–a modest target share with a couple of deep grabs, but no luck finding the end zone. This day could have been better for Dell–he had one more tackle to break on his longest reception to find the end zone, and he also just failed to bring in another long pass on a ball that was well-defended on 3rd and long. With Nico Collins back and hogging the alpha receiver role, Dell is relegated to a FLEX option in most matchups, and not a highly-ranked one at that.
Cade Stover: 3/4 receiving, 26 yards, 1 TD
This was by far Stover’s best fantasy day of the season. Good for him for finding the end zone, but he shouldn’t find his way onto your roster.
Dalton Schultz: 2/2 receiving, 20 yards
With Nico Collins back in the fold, Dalton Schultz‘s streaming appeal has evaporated. He’s firmly in the “TD-or-bust” tier moving forward.
Robert Woods: 1/1 receiving, 8 yards
John Metchie III: 1/3 receiving, 6 yards
Xavier Hutchinson: 0/1 receiving
The tertiary receiving options for Houston aren’t appealing in fantasy. Metchie and Hutchinson are both deep-league Dynasty stashes at best.