NFL - Houston Texans v Titans

23 November 2009

Preview By Tipster Jumbo (New Zealand)

While the Texans are fresh from their bye week and are still in the hunt for their first playoff berth, this game could be tricky for them as they face a rejuvenated Titans outfit being led well by Vince Young and RB Johnson.

A Great passing passing game by Schaub has the Texans at 5-4, their first winning season through 9 games in the past 8 seasons, They’ll need to be careful today though as they face a side they have never had much luck against in the Titans , Houston though needs wins and they are rating this as their biggest game ever, they do need to win this match in order to keep pace in a crowded wild-card race, If the Texans are to win this game they will have to stop Titans RB Johnson who is on an unbelievable tear right now, The Texans are aware of how dangerous Johnson can be after he gained 197 yards on 16 carries as well as nine catches for 87 yards against them in Week 2, while scoring three touchdowns. The Texans still managed a 34-31win , thanks to Schaub's 357 passing yards and four touchdowns, The Texans have though some light at the end of the Tunnel in that regard as they have held their last six opponents to an average of 60.5 rushing yards , the fewest in the NFL in that stretch. Schaub is grabbing headlines this season and fair enough he is going well, Schaub is ranked third in the NFL behind Manning and Brady in passing yards, but has nine interceptions, contributing to Houston's 16 turnovers - six of which have come in the last two games., they are though having troubles with their short yardage game with Slaton being benched for to many fumbles and back up RB Moats was held to 38 yards on 16 carries by Indianapolis in the Texans last match.

Titans owner Bud Adams, who founded the franchise was fined $250,000 this week after he gave the middle finger salute toward Bills fans last Sunday, but after the season they have had I don’t blame him, the Titans for the last 2 seasons have been great, this season however they have not been good at all, a change of QB with Ex Longhorn’s maestro Vince Young has seen the Titans win their last 3 games though against the Bills 41-17, 49ers 34-27 and the Jags 30-13 and come into Houston looking to extend that run to 4 today, Young won his only previous professional start in his hometown with a 39-yard touchdown run in OT for a 26-20 Titans victory Dec. 10, 2006. Since the Texans' inception, Tennessee is 5-2 in the city that they used to call home. Tennessee has an 8-1 edge in turnover margin during its win streak, with Young playing Great, He did give away Interceptions earlier in his NFL Career but Young has been picked off once in 62 attempts since getting the starting job back., his total of passing yards has increased each week and he has completed 71.0 percent of his throws. It is also a huge help with RB Johnson rushing the ball for him with an average of 6.4 yards per carry, Johnson is the 3rd player in NFL History to earn 1000 rushing yards in 9 games and he had 132 rushing yards and 100 receiving in last Sunday's 41-17 home win over Buffalo.

The Titans are 7-3 in their last 10 against the Texans and are also 6-4 ATS in those matches, the Under/Over on these games has passed the set total in 8 of the last 10, In Houston and the Titans have won 3 of their last 4, but did lose 12-13 in their last visit here in 2008.

The Titans want to turn this into a hard hitting Fierce ball-control game behind RB Johnson, While the Texans will likely attack Tennessee's secondary, which could work as the Titans pass rush has not been to confrontational so far this season and Texans QB Schaub has proved he is more than capable of leading a offense even when he gets little help from the ground game. The match up may hinge on Houston's ability to contain Johnson, who has totaled 495 rushing yards, 136 receiving yards and six touchdowns during the winning streak.

Time of possession could be huge in this game and I like the Titans to keep this match very close and maybe even be in a position to win it, the Titans have done a great job in their last 3 games of holding the ball for long periods of their matches and if they can do that again today then they should be able to get some joy from this match, Good Monday Night game with plenty on it, I’m on the Titans to cover the 4 on offer….Good Luck.