The Houston Texans defense got involved in the scoring on Sunday, much to the chagrin of the Tennessee Titans, and helped power the Texans to a 38-14 win at Reliant Stadium. Danieal Manning and Kareem Jackson each returned interceptions for touchdowns as part of a dominant second half in which the Texans outscored the Titans 24-7 to cruise past the Titans.
With the win, Houston remains perfect on the season at 4-0. Tennessee falls to 1-3 on the year and are quickly finding themselves out of the AFC South race.
Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson got the Texans going early with a 33-yard pass on the second play from scrimmage and then another 20 yards on the following play. Schaub then capped off the seven play, 77-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to James Casey and Houston was off and running.
The Texans' second touchdown drive was a little more balanced as Arian Foster got involved and combined with Schaub to move Houston 45 yards. Foster then rumbled into the end zone from four yards out and the Texans were up 14-0.
Things didn't get much better for the Titans when Jake Locker went down hurt. He left with a shoulder injury and was called "questionable to return", but never did.
That brought on Matt Hasselbeck, who did lead the Titans on a second quarter touchdown drive, but that was all he really managed.
With the Tennessee deficit cut to 14-7, Hasselbeck did his best to let Houston run away with the game. He got picked by Manning early in the third quarter and Manning took it back 55 yards for a touchdown. Hasselbeck also threw one to Jackson, which went 64 yards the other way for six.
In between, the Texans offense continued to cruise. Foster was slowed down some by the Titans' defense, but he did get to 86 yards and Schaub was efficient through the air, adding a second TD pass. Tennessee added a late touchdown, but the game was already over as Houston improved to 4-0 for the first time in franchise history.
Fantasy studs/duds: The Texans defense had two interceptions for touchdowns for a nice showing, while Chris Johnson racked up 141 yards for the Titans, albeit without a touchdown. Check out SBN Fantasy for more.
Odds: Houston was favored by 12 and easily covered in their dominant victory. SBN Odds has everything else.
Injury info: There is no word yet on the severity of Jake Locker's shoulder injury. That he was "questionable to return" is encouraging, but he never made it back and there has not been an update yet.
Next up: Both teams are on the road next week. The Texans get eight days off because their next game is on Monday night against the Jets, while the Titans will look to get back on track versus the Vikings.