Titans @ Texans
Final Score: Titans 17, Texans 10
Writer: Jason Wolf (@J_Wolf_picks on Twitter)
The Titans’ 2022 third-round draft pick, QB Malik Willis, made his first career start and it could not have come against a better opponent as RB Derrick Henry averaged 224.3 rushing YPG over the last three contests vs. the Texans coming into this one. Henry delivered and then some, rushing for 219 yards and 2 TDs in a dominant Titans win which was a much less competitive game than the final scoreline suggests. Rookie Malik Willis was asked to throw the ball 10 times and the Texans were stuck on 3 points until the dying seconds of the game when Davis Mills threw a garbage-time TD to make the final score appear much less ugly than the game actually was in what was probably one of the least fantasy-friendly games of the year.
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
Malik Willis: 6/10, 55 Yards, INT | 5 Carries, 12 Yards
Titans Rookie QB Malik Willis was set up for success from the jump this week as the Titans were happy to run the ball all day. Lucky for Willis, the Titans were going up against the league’s 32nd-ranked rushing defense in the Texans. Willis was barely asked to throw the ball as he only attempted 10 passes on the day. Willis’ stat line, with a 60% completion rate, 5.5 YPA, and 0:1 TD:INT are of course, uninspiring. But given the opponent, the game plan, and how effective the running game was all day, there was no need for Willis to be pushed.
Looking at Willis’ stats from yesterday won’t leave you with a good impression, however, watching him play the whole game, I was left encouraged by his performance. Willis was poised, took what the defense gave him, and didn’t make any serious errors. Even Willis’ lone turnover on the day, his interception, was not entirely his fault as Titans’ WR Cody Hollister either fell down and tripped at the top of his route, or he flopped in an attempt to draw a DPI flag. Either way, Hollister’s body was flying to the ground as Willis’ slightly mis-thrown ball was easily intercepted. What should have been a contested incomplete catch or a batted down ball ended up as an unfortunate interception for Willis. Had Hollister completed his route, Willis’ day would look a little better on paper.
There were some negatives too, however. Willis did look a bit panicky in the pocket when facing any amount of pressure. Granted it didn’t happen often due to the Texans’ inept defense, but when Willis did see pressure, too often he over-reacted and left the pocket, abandoning the designed play far too quickly, not giving plays a chance to develop in the process. Other times, Willis would feel pressure around him in the pocket and even though the pocket was clean, he was uncomfortable and made off-balance throws instead of stepping up and through the pocket to deliver throws in time and with confidence. Of course, it was his first NFL start so a lot of these typical jittery rookie mistakes are expected, especially out of a third-round project QB. Willis’ mechanics may also be brought into question as he was inconsistent with the dropping of his throwing elbow, appearing to half-side-arm it, resulting in slightly misplaced throws.
Overall Willis did a good job. There is something to be said for handing the ball off 40 times and doing so without a mistake; something that is often taken for granted. Willis seems to have potential down the road as a QB but yesterday’s game didn’t offer much evidence for or against his case. Vrabel and the coaching staff nailed it into his head to just protect the ball and execute, and that’s what he did. It would be nice to see Willis get some reps in game situations without any potential mental block or fear of turning the ball over or straying from the game plan, but with the Titans atop the division at 5-2, that seems to be an unlikely scenario for this year, at least.
Running Back
Derrick Henry: 32 Carries, 219 Yards, 2 TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards
Dontrell Hilliard: 8 Carries, 83 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 12 Yards
Derrick Henry is an absolute beast. What more need be said about this near-perfect running back? Yesterday’s game against the Texans was a vintage Henry performance as well as a one-game highlight reel. He carried the ball 32 times, amassing 219 yards (6.8 YPC) on the ground in the process. From the literal first minute, Henry set the tone of the whole game and let the Texans know it was going to be a long one. He hit the ground running immediately, taking his second carry of the game for 41 yards while embarrassing multiple Texans defenders in the process. Henry got the ball in the backfield, juked the first linebacker that met him at the LOS, cut + threw a mean stiff arm to the LB at the second level, and then turned the boosters on to gain another 20+ yards after contact. This was just one of many highlight-worthy runs on the day for Henry.
Derrick Henry opens the #Texans game with a 41-yard run.
Helping his new QB Malik Willis to settle in early.pic.twitter.com/qKSuqDXCJx
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 30, 2022
Henry completely dominated the Texans. The Texans’ first 11 drives generated a grand total of 51 yards. Derrick Henry’s first 11 touches went for 72 yards. Henry literally gained more yards in 10 carries than the Texans did in the entire first half. Incredibly enough, as is often the case, Henry somehow looked better and better as the game went on, continually eating up chunk yardage and demoralizing the Texans and their fans on nearly every drive of the game. Henry was faster, stronger, and more explosive than anyone on the field all day as he had seven carries of 10+ yards, including three that went for over 20 yards. The way Henry constantly keeps his legs churning and always falls forward is always amazing to watch. Henry consistently ran over and through Texans defenders, sometimes even appearing to pay them no mind as he cruised by. On his first touchdown of the day, Henry gracefully ran by a handful of Texans defenders for a 30-yard TD, juking a couple and running by a couple of others. Henry simultaneously made this 29-yard TD look so mundane and unimpressive all the while displaying absurd athleticism and skill.
Derrick Henry’s insane fantasy run in Houston continues 🤌🔥 pic.twitter.com/SqDK2ovDLY
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) October 30, 2022
I could go on and on about Henry from yesterday’s game but I would start to sound like a broken record. I think Texans’ RB Dameon Pierce put it best after the game when he said, “he ain’t supposed to be that big running that fast.” The takeaway from the game is this: If you are ever playing against Derrick Henry in fantasy football when the Titans are playing the Texans, I am sorry but you’ve already lost. Now I will leave you with my favorite clips of Derrick Henry running over the Texans defense.
Live stream of Derrick Henry vs. The Texans.
— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) October 30, 2022
Derrick Henry any time he plays the Texans pic.twitter.com/UQAHFsB4VH
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) October 30, 2022
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Robert Woods: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 26 Yards, 1 Fumble (Lost)
Austin Hooper: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 5 Yards
There was not much passing game love to go around yesterday for the Titans as QB Malik Willis only threw the ball 10 times. For some reason beyond my comprehension, WR Robert Woods was on punt return duty in the first quarter when he coughed up the ball after it was lightly poked out, resulting in a turnover in Titans territory while the game was still scoreless. This was a bad-looking turnover with poor ball security from Woods, something we haven’t seen all too often in his career. It’s fair to mark this lost fumble off as a freak accident and a potential sign from the universe to HC Mike Vrabel to not trot out his “WR1” to return punts.
From a receiving standpoint, Woods did his perfect impersonation of a 2022 Tennessee Titans “WR1” in this one as he was the only Titans receiver to catch more than a single pass on the day. Woods finished with a massive target share of 20% and accounted for a monster 47% of his team’s receiving yards. Woods did snag both of his targets and his YPC was 13, not bad at all considering who was throwing him the ball and the fact that the rest of Willis’ throws went for a combined 29 yards on four completions. Willis was actually looking downfield when targeting Woods, and that is an encouraging sign in case the need for Willis to start again pops up. Overall Woods didn’t light up the box score as a receiver but he made a big impact blocking for Derrick Henry all game. Woods has always been known as one of the best blocking WR’s in the league and that was on full display in this game yet again.
TE Austin Hooper was quiet as a church mouse, bringing in his lone target of the day for a modest five yards. Yesterday was not his worst performance of the season by far, however, as he recorded one catch for seven yards just three weeks ago against the Commanders. No one in this passing game’s involvement is guaranteed outside of Robert Woods since rookie standout Treylon Burks has been injured.
Houston Texans
Quarterback
Davis Mills: 17/29, 152 Yards, TD, INT | 3 Carries, 8 Yards
QB Davis Mills showed a lot of promise during his rookie year at times but is going through a sophomore slump this year, regressing this year even though he was given the keys to the offense coming into the year. Granted it’s not much of an offensive vehicle; more a Ford Aerostar than a Tesla, but Mills has failed to offer much encouragement nearly halfway through the season. To be fair to Mills, the Texans’ defense is possibly the worst in the league, the offensive line is a mess, the coaching is subpar, and their schedule hasn’t done them any favors either. Outside of Brandin Cooks, Mills isn’t being given the tools to succeed in a modern-day NFL offense. Simply put, the environment is not conducive to developing an unpolished inexperienced QB.
Yet, in games, the sophomore slump does seem pretty real for Mills. His pocket presence and awareness in this game were abysmal. Mills took three sacks but it could have been less as he did absolutely nothing to avoid going into sacks. On one of the sacks he took, Mills had a clean pocket to step up and into but instead he showed a lack of awareness and was slow to go through his reads, ending up with the pocket eventually collapsing around him.
Slow to progress through reads is probably the most common criticism I would have from watching Mills this season and this game. Most of the time Mills is just looking for Cooks to beat his man so he can have an excuse to throw to his #1, but if Cooks isn’t open, Mills struggles to work his way through other targets on the offense. When targeting Cooks, Mills was 4/6 for 73 yards but when targeting everyone else he was 13/23 for 79 yards. The splits when targeting Cooks are fine but outside of that, it is really ugly.
Overall, his 58% completion rate, 5.2 YPA, and eye test were all ugly on the box score and uglier in person. Mills did not look much better throwing the ball than Willis did, and Mills threw the ball three times as much and his counting stats would be nearly the same if not for a meaningless last-second garbage time long bomb and TD. There were times when Mills was given time in the pocket and deep routes were afforded time to develop yet Mills refused to unleash the ball. It makes no sense because the Texans are often playing from behind but Mills seems too conservative throughout games. Several times in this game he could have taken a reasonable deep shot but chose not to because he doesn’t want to throw an interception? Until Mills lets it rip more like what he did last year, he does not stand to win many games or fill up the stat sheets.
Running Back
Dameon Pierce: 15 Carries, 35 Yards | 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 16 Yards, TD
Rookie standout RB Dameon Pierce was stifled in this game by the Titans’ chaos-wreaking and disruptive defensive front seven as much as he was neutered by the Texans’ inability to neither stop the Titans’ run game nor get anything going on offense themselves. In a vacuum, with the ball in his hands, Pierce looked dangerous and as good as ever. However, nearly every time he touched the ball he was met immediately by one or two Titans run stoppers. In total, Pierce registered five TFLs, losing yardage on 1/3 of his carries, an absolutely absurd rate given he carried the rock 15 times. Titans players were setting up camp in the Texans backfield all day, making life impossible for Pierce.
Pierce did have a couple of nice plays on the day, taking two runs for 10+ yards, which both felt like huge plays in this game seeing as the Texans were able to generate next to nothing on offense for 90% of the game. When Pierce got the ball, you just hoped he was given an opportunity to make something happen and you almost felt bad for him when his number was called because you knew he was going to get hit shortly after getting the ball. 12/15 carries went for three yards or less, and watching the game it felt like even less than that. Pierce’s box score and fantasy day was saved by the garbage time receiving TD that he scored with 17 seconds left to play. It wasn’t a big play but Pierce did run a really nice route to get open in the endzone on the play. Maybe the defender let up ever so slightly, but Pierce made a nice, fluid double move to get open and secure the TD catch.
Dameon Pierce in the final seconds😎
pic.twitter.com/hFGhxJGk8P— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) October 30, 2022
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Brandin Cooks: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 73 Yards
Popular preseason sleeper pick WR Nico Collins was inactive due to injury for week 8, so Brandin Cooks was really the only fantasy (and non-fantasy) relevant receiver for the Texans this week. He was the only receiver on the team to finish with 25+ yards receiving on the day. Cooks accounted for essentially half of Davis Mills‘ total yardage output (48%) on the day, and was targeted on over 20% of Mills’ passing attempts. Cooks’ final box score numbers don’t seem all that terrible especially when you take into consideration the final score and his team’s total yardage output but Cooks’ day (and current perceived trade value) was saved when he hauled in a 44-yard reception in garbage time with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game. Without that admittedly beautiful but meaningless reception, Cooks’ and Mills’ days look significantly worse on paper.
Cooks’ day was perhaps a microcosm of his time with Davis Mills throwing him the ball. The Texans stand no shot competitively and get thoroughly outplayed, Cooks makes a splash play here and there, and Mills mostly makes you shake your head and say “he’s just not good enough.” Cooks, fantasy managers, and the Texans alike are all probably hoping and praying that Cooks is able to be moved by the Tuesday trade deadline because his talent and ability is being severely limited by the team around him. He might not be the locked-in WR1 anywhere he goes like he was a few years ago but he can absolutely play and flourish in a massive role on a contending team as a second or third option in the passing game.
Aunque ya sin mucho sin jugar, Brandin Cooks logró esta gran recepción 🔥🤷♂️
📺: @FOXSportsMX #NFLMX | #WeAreTexans pic.twitter.com/RRhpkopMTl
— NFL México (@nflmx) October 30, 2022
Debbie Downer masterclass.