The Tennessee Titans remain undefeated. They’re still working at
perfection.
LenDale White ran for two touchdowns, Kerry Collins threw for another and
Tennessee rolled over Houston 31-12 Sunday to improve to 3-0 for only the third
time in franchise history.
“It’s a long way to go, but 3-0 is a good start,” Titans defensive end Jevon
Kearse said after getting his first full sack this season. “There’s still a lot
of room for improvement.”
The Titans last won their first three games in 1999—their first season in their
current stadium—and in 1991 while still in Houston and playing as the Oilers.
With this victory, they now have beaten the team that replaced them in Houston
seven straight times and in 11 of 13 games...
LenDale White rushed to the left for
2 yard gain (Rob Bironas made PAT)
3 - 7
3:49
HOU
FG
Kris Brown kicked a 24-yard field
goal
6 - 7
2nd Quarter
14:46
TEN
TD
Kerry Collins passed to Bo Scaife to
the right for 9 yard gain (Rob Bironas made PAT)
6 - 14
8:31
HOU
TD
Steve Slaton rushed to the left for
6 yard gain (2pt attempt failed, Player run up the
middle)
12 - 14
4:36
TEN
TD
LenDale White rushed up the middle
for 1 yard gain (Rob Bironas made PAT)
12 - 21
3rd Quarter
6:36
TEN
FG
Rob Bironas kicked a 44-yard field
goal
12 - 24
4th Quarter
1:03
TEN
TD
Cortland Finnegan intercepted Matt
Schaub for 99 yards (Rob Bironas made PAT)
12 - 31
Team Statistics
HOU
TEN
First Downs
15
19
Passing
8
10
Rushing
7
9
Penalty
0
0
Third Down
Efficiency
3-15
5-13
Fourth Down
Efficiency
2-6
1-1
TOTAL NET YARDS
317
343
Total Plays
68
62
Average Gain Per
Play
4.7
5.5
NET YARDS
RUSHING
146
154
Rushes
28
36
Average Per Rush
5.2
4.3
NET YARDS
PASSING
171
189
Completions-Attempts
17-37
14-26
Yards Per Pass
Play
4.3
7.3
Times Sacked
3
0
Yards Lost to
Sacks
17
0
Had Intercepted
3
1
PUNTS
4
6
Average Punt
42.5
44.7
PENALTIES
2
8
Penalty Yards
10
75
FUMBLES
2
1
Fumbles Lost
0
1
TIME OF
POSSESSION
30:41
29:19
Pregame Previews, Storylines,
and News
Preview:
New Page 1
Following a harrowing week, the Houston
Texans are ready to get back on the field. Apparently the Tennessee Titans don't
think Vince Young is.
With many players still picking up the pieces from Hurricane Ike - which brought
about an unexpected bye week - the Texans hope to provide the city of Houston a
lift on Sunday by going on the road to get their first win and hand the Titans
their first loss...more
Inside the Game Plans:
Notable:
TEXANS: The
Texans' priority on offense will clearly be to try to establish a
running game. The Texans had only 25 rushing yards prior to the Steelers
putting their backups in during the fourth quarter. With Ahman Green
nursing a sprained ankle, the Texans will have to lean on
less-experienced backs in Steve Slaton and Chris Taylor to shoulder the
load. The backs will have to take advantage of whatever space the
offensive line can make for them, but it won't be easy since the Titans
rank second in the league in run defense.
Defensively, the Texans will try to harass Kerry Collins, who has
been solid so far this season. Since he isn't as mobile as Vince Young,
the Texans will try to hurry him and throw him off rhythm. The Texans
hope their pass rush is more effective than in the opener, and that
other players take advantage of opportunities on the defensive line when
the offense is focusing in on Mario Williams...FULL
STORY
TITANS: The
Titans have patented their formula of running the football and playing
strong defense, and there appears to be no real reason to change that
philosophy against the Texans, whom they have dominated since Houston
re-entered the league in 2002. The Titans will use their one-two punch
of Chris Johnson and LenDale White on offense, but might get some bonus
contributions from the passing offense now that Kerry Collins is at the
controls. Either way, Johnson is blossoming into a potential star,
averaging 5.9 yards per carry, and it appears only a matter of time
before he begins to get more than the 50 percent of the rushes he is
currently getting as he shares with White.
Defensively, the Titans are ranked No. 1 against the run and hope to
stop Texans rookie Steve Slaton, a north-south cutback runner who has
speed. If they can do that, then they can turn loose the pass rush, led
by Kyle Vanden Bosch and Albert Haynesworth and make things easier for
their linebackers and defensive backs in coverage...FULL
STORY
The Texans had their Week
2 game with the Ravens cancelled due to Hurricane Ike and will make up
the game on November 9. Houston was scheduled to play Cincinnati on
November 9 and that game has been moved to October 26 (both the Texans
and Bengals original 2008 bye).
Tennessee has defeated Houston six straight and 10 of 12 meetings
all-time. The last five games between these two teams have been decided
by eight points or less
18.4
18.2
