It was anything but pretty, but a win is a win is a win.
The Texans won their second consecutive game — their third victory in four games — and climbed back to .500 with a 16-13 win over the Titans on a last-play field goal by Matthew Wright. Houston is 5-5 and Tennessee 1-9 after Sunday’s ugly affair in Nashville.
The Texans, playing without starting quarterback C.J. Stroud for a second consecutive week, outgained the Titans 315 to 229. Davis Mills went 26-of-41 for 274 yards and a touchdown.
Houston had no points in the first half, but got a 3-yard touchdown catch by Nico Collins and Wright field goals of 41 and 43 yards in the second half. The Texans appeared to have it in the bag with a 13-6 lead with 4:57 left.
But the Titans reached the Houston 32, getting help on Derek Stingley’s 18-yard pass interference penalty and Denico Autry’s illegal use of hands penalty on back-to-back plays. Autry’s 5-yard penalty was tacked onto the end of Cam Ward’s 20-yard scramble. But a false start and a sack of Ward had the Titans facing a third-and-16.
Ward threw a 39-yard pass to Chig Okonkwo to the Houston 7 on the first play after the 2-minute warning, and Van Jefferson caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Ward. The Titans chose to kick the extra point instead of going for 2, tying it 13-13 with 1:35 left.
Mills then drove the Texans 48 yards in nine plays, eating up the final 1:35 as Wright’s 35-yard kick won it. Collins kept the drive alive with a toe-tapping, 17-yard catch on third-and-16. He caught nine passes for 92 yards.
Ward was 24-of-37 for 194 yards and a touchdown and added 33 yards on three scrambles. Okonkwo caught three passes for 56 yards.
