Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Houston 10 at Tennessee 17 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Houston Texans: Houston's new pro football team traveled to Tennessee to face the old Houston Oilers (now the Titans). This was the first game of this sure to be heated rivalry. Owners Bob McNair (Texans) and Bud Adams (Titans), may be friends living in the same neighborhood. But the Houston public has different views of the ex Oiler owner. QB David Carr and the Texans offense had a tough time against an inspired Titan defense. Carr only threw for 182 yards with 2 interceptions. He did manage to throw a 10 yard touchdown. Carr had 2 fumbles and lost one of them. RB Jonathan Wells was held in check most of the night. He did have a couple of nice runs though. His longest went for 13 yards. WR JuJuan Dawson has moved up as the third WR for the team. They also seem to be using more 3 WR sets. They aren't just for third downs anymore. Dawson had a nice catch and run for 28 yards. As Dawson has moved up, Jermaine Lewis has been seeing less and less offensive action. Lewis is still very active on special teams though. Carr didn't seem to have a favorite target in this game. All of his targets saw equal action. Tennessee Titans: The Old Houston franchise beat the new one for their fourth consecutive win. The game didn't start well for QB Steve McNair. His first pass attempt of the game was picked off. On the next drive he calmed down and went 5/7 for 57 yards. The drive ended with a 13 yard touchdown pass to Derrick Mason. McNair only passed for 109 yards but he threw two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions in the game. RB Eddie George had 86 yards rushing and had a long run of 14 yards. He had 25 touches for 3.44 yards per carry. WR Derrick Mason was the only player with more than 1 catch for the Titans. TE Frank Wycheck was injured in the 1st quarter when he was hit trying to make the catch. He dropped the ball and left the game with a concussion. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Houston Texans QB: David Carr and the Texans are well on their way to a record setting season. Unfortunately, the record is for sacks allowed in a season. They gave up 4 more sacks in the loss to the Titans. Carr passed for 182 yards and 1 touchdown. He threw 2 interceptions and fumbled twice, losing one of them. Carr had 16 rushing yards with a long run of 14. RB: Jonathan Wells continues to get the start for the Texans. He had a couple nice runs but he was often hit behind the line of scrimmage and never really had a chance to make anything happen. with 46 total yards on 19 touches. James Allen came in on third downs and on other passing downs. He only ran the ball twice for 5 yards but he added 4 catches for 25 yards to the offensive totals of the Texans. FB Jarrod Baxter scored the only touchdown for Houston. The defender jumped on the ball for the pick but was too late. Baxter pulled in the pass and ran into the endzone. This was his only touch of the game. He is used primarily as a blocker but sometimes catches the ball out of the backfield. WR: JuJuan Dawson led the team with 4 catches for 75 yards. His long catch of 28 yards was a nice 10 yard catch that he turned into something more by bouncing off the defenders. Rookie Jabbar Gaffney had 3 catches for 26 yards. He was the second leading receiver on the team. Corey Bradford hauled in 3 balls also. He finished with 22 yards. Carr did try to connect with him on a deep pass but it was broken up. TE: Billy Miller also had 3 catches but they only went for a total of 19 yards. Miller had one dropped pass in the game. Texans Pass Defense: The pass defense did really well covering downfield and pressuring McNair. The problem was containing McNair from picking up the 1st down by scrambling. They came away with two interceptions, one was in the endzone. They were unable to sack McNair but only allowed him 109 yards passing. They did give up 2 passing touchdowns though. Texans Run Defense: David Carr turned the ball over 3 times. One of the turnovers was on his own 13 yard line. The defense stood tough and held the Titans to only a field goal. The defense didn't surrender any points on the 2 interceptions Carr threw. The defense held Eddie George to 3.44 ypc for a grand total of 86 yards. The Titans were held to 251 yards of total offense. They forced 5 punts. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Tennessee Titans QB: Steve McNair was intercepted by Aaron Glenn on his very first pass of the game. He came back strong on the second possession leading the team on a 13 play 93 yard drive for a touchdown. McNair was 5/7 for 57 yards on the drive. One of his passes was dropped and the other tipped. The touchdown was a 13 yard pass to Derrick Mason. During the replay you could see that Mason was actually down at the 1 yard line. The play wasn't challenged by the Texans. McNair finished the game with 109 yards passing, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Where he was most dangerous was on the run. Despite his turf toe, he rushed for 46 yards on 8 attempts. He had a long scramble for 22 yards. RB: Eddie George was held under 100 yards and didn't get into the endzone. What he was able to do is control the clock for the Titans. He had 25 carries for only 86 yards. That's a 3.44 rushing average. WR: Derrick Mason was the only receiver with multiple catches. He pulled in 4 balls for 47 yards in the game. His touchdown should have been down at the one as his knee clearly hit the ground before the ball broke the plain of the endzone. Kevin Dyson was held with one catch for 15 yards. Drew Bennett didn't have a catch but he was overthrown on a long pass play. He was wide open on the play and was sure to score if the ball was thrown to him. TE: Frank Wycheck left the game with a concussion on the second Titan possession. He had one catch for 10 yards. Shad Meier's only catch was a touchdown to begin the second half. It was the first touchdown of his career and his first catch of the season. Titans Pass Defense: One word.... Outstanding. David Carr was under constant pressure. They sacked him twice in their first two possessions. Carr was flagged for grounding twice in the game. That would have been two more sacks on the 4 recorded. They picked Carr off twice and recovered a fumble. Titans Run Defense: The defense didn't allow much rushing against them. Texans leading rusher only had 41 yards. The entire offense only came away with 233 yards and ten points. They forced 5 punts.