Texans outlast Titans for second win of 2022: 'We needed this one'

The Houston Texans are in the running for the first pick in next spring’s National Football League (NFL) Draft, but on Saturday, they delivered a victory that was nothing short of a Christmas miracle. 

A hard-fought 19-14 road victory over the American Football Conference (AFC) South-leading Tennessee Titans ended what was a nine-game losing skid for the Texans, who notched their second win of 2022 with about three weeks left.

Second-year quarterback Davis Mills threw for 178 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 17-of-28 passing, per a report on the Texans’ website. 

The Stanford-educated field general and backup Jeff Driskell have been splitting time under center. 

Per Mills, the Texans played complementary football to upset Houston’s former NFL franchise. 

“That's what we did really all three phases,” he said in the report. “Offense, defense [and] special teams making plays near the end of the game to make sure we came on with the win."

Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported that the Texans, who are out of playoff contention by virtue of having the league’s worst record, possess a 2-1-1 division mark as of Monday. 

The tie came against the Indianapolis Colts in the season opener in September. 

For the Texans, beating one of their most bitter foes after a couple of weeks of lost nail-biters and about two months of defeat was more than a heavy weight lifted off their shoulders. 

“We needed this one,” head coach Lovie Smith said, KPRC reported.

According to the station, the Texans defense kept bruising Titans speedster Derrick Henry to 126 yards on the ground and a score after surrendering at least 200 yards to the former Heisman Trophy winner in their previous four matchups. 

The franchise reported that the defense collected three takeaways, including rookie safety Jalen Pitre’s fourth pick on his young career and Christian Harris’s game-sealing interception.

CBS Sports reported that the game was pushed back from its slated noontime start in response to rolling blackouts impacting Nashville and surrounding areas.