It’s the holiday season, and Houston Texans fans got the greatest Christmas wish they could ask for. In Nashville on Sunday morning, missing at least a half dozen of their ten best players, while losing yet another (Jimmie Ward, concussion) early in the game, the Houston Texans came back from a 13-0 deficit to defeat the Tennessee Titans, 19-16 on a last second overtime field goal by the returning Ka’imi Fairbairn.
Adding to the holiday cheer was the fact that the Tennessee Titans decided to transform themselves into the Houston Oilers for a day, as they have the right to do, what with the Adams family still owning not just the Titans, but the rights to all things Oiler. I expressed my feelings on this very topic in this one minute open to the Texans postgame show on Sunday. Enjoy….
Okay, now for actual winners and losers from this game:
WINNERS
4. Devin Singletary
This backfield and this running game belongs to the man they call “Motor.” Singletary was huge in the big wins over Cincinnati and Arizona, with over 100 yards in each of those games, and in a game where being able to run the ball was not negotiable, Singletary came up huge, with 121 yards on the ground, including a ton of tough yards after contact. His 41 yard catch and run in overtime set up the game winning field goal, and he would have had the game winning touchdown, if not for a John Metchie holding call on a 34-yard would-be TD run. If C.J. Stroud can’t go next weekend, the Texans will need more of this from Motor.
3. Jonathan Greenard
Greenard followed up his two sack performance against the Jets with 2.5 sacks on Sunday against the Titans. This gives Greenard 12.5 sacks on the season, and this time, he had a huge game without Will Anderson rushing off the other side. Anderson draws a lot of attention, but Greenard showed on Sunday he is just a straight up beast, Anderson or no Anderson. Greenard is making a case for a lot of really important accolades and accomplishments — most valuable player on the Texans defense, perhaps a Pro Bowl berth, and most importantly, a gigantic contract at the end of the season.
2. Case Keenum
The legend of Case Keenum grows, and this one will go down as his masterpiece as a Houston quarterback, at either level, the NFL or college. It was Saturday when Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 reported that Keenum would get the starting nod over Davis Mills, a surprising decision considering Mills had been C.J. Stroud’s backup all season. However, the experience of Keenum in similar situations during his career was a deciding factor. It showed up huge at times in this game, with the TD to Noah Brown, the aforementioned pass to Singletary, and honestly, there’s probably a big part of the run game success the Texans had that can be attributed to Keenum’s getting the team into the right play. The legend grows!
1. DeMeco Ryans
It DeMeco Ryans wins NFL Coach of the Year, just put a condensed version of this game on a loop and play it at the NFL Honors ceremony. The offensive staff had a game plan that was a winning game plan, and Ryans’ defense held the Titans to 121 total yards after giving up 83 yards on the opening drive. A pick six on a miscommunication between Keenum and Dare Ogunbowale is the only thing that kept the Texans paddling upstream all afternoon. The defense held Derrick Henry (10 total yards) and DeAndre Hopkins (21 yards) to 31 yards from scrimmage. They cut both heads off the two headed snake that is the Titans’ offense. All hail, King Ryans!
LOSERS
4. Dallas Cowboys
Sunday was a tough one for Texan fans to stomach, from this standpoint — not only did they have to watch their team play in a game where the field and stadium were adorned ni Houston Oiler colors, but we also had to root for the Dallas Cowboys in their game against the Buffalo Bills. If the Cowboys were to win, the Bills would fall to 7-7 on the season, a huge assist for the Texans and the other teams coming into this weekend at 7-6 in the AFC. Of course, the lesson, as always, is never trust anyone from Dallas to do your dirty work. The Cowboys lost 31-10, and further validated the notion that they are lamb killing phonies.
3. Dameon Pierce
I hate to say it and I hate to see it, but the most (only?) fun thing about the 2022 Houston Texans has gone from the face of the team on all of the marketing collateral at the end of last season to “behind Dare Ogunbowale in the running back pecking order.” After the huge performance from Singletary, Pierce is an afterthought, and it’s a serious long term question as to whether he is even a fit in this offense with his “bull in a china shop” running style.
2. Mike Vrabel
Poor Vrabel, the folks in and around the Titans probably had to get on their hands and knees to get him to “pay homage” to Bum Phillips, and be a part of Amy Adams’ petty stunts toward the city of Houston. After an 19-16 overtime loss where his team blew a 13-0 lead, this looks pretty silly in retrospect:
1. Amy Adams Strunk
The apple doesn’t fall from the tree. Her late father, Bud Adams, could be as petty as they come, so when she has a chance for her team to don the old Oilers gear, she will most definitely try to rub the city of Houston’s collective nose in it. Karma, who was kind enough to also be in the building on Sunday, and make sure that the “Oilers for a day” fans got the full Oiler experience, in watching their team cough up a double digit lead to a team being skippered by a quarterback who had started two games in the last four years. Luv Ya Blue, indeed.
Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
