Why the Titans have the upper hand on the Houston Texans

2018:

The 2018 Titans and Texans were about as different as two teams separated by two wins could possibly be. Two teams that performed similarly in wins and losses, finishing at 9-7 and 11-5 respectively, but were dominated by two completely different narratives.

While the Titans had questions looming about their future, and their potential with the player once perceived to be the quarterback of the future in Marcus Mariota, the Texans were seen as a team on the up and up. Second-year quarterback Deshaun Watson was playing even better than anyone ever could have hoped, the team had surrounded him with talented weapons in DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller, and the defense, while not great as a unit, had a cast of great playmakers from JJ Watt to Jadaveon Clowney to Tyrann Mathieu.

And sure, Tennessee had a solid cast of young talent of their own— especially on defense. Kevin Byard was already an established star, with young players like Jayom Brown and Adoree Jackson emerging behind him. But some of the team’s biggest contributors on that side of the player, the Brian Orakpo’s and Derrick Morgan’s and Jurrell Casey’s and even the Malcolm Butler’s of the world were in a position where their best ball was either behind them or close to behind them. And the Titans didn’t have the guys on offense to make up for their aging defense, from an underwhelming cast of pass catchers to weak interior line play to the continuing “Is Marcus Mariota good” narrative.

The Titans were in danger of becoming a non-factor in a division that was set to be run by the Texans for years to come, and all of their emerging elite talent was sure to keep it that way.

All Houston had to follow a three-point checklist. They needed to:

1) Keep adding young talent through the draft

2) Find a way to keep their key players

3) Just don’t screw things up…