Why the Titans have the upper hand on the Houston Texans
By Brady Akins
What It All Means:
3) Just don’t screw it up
The fates of the AFC South have reversed course, and it only took two years.
The team of the present and the presumed future, the Houston Texans, look like they’re on the verge of sacrificing their potential, along with the early career of their generational quarterback. They’ve lost the help of key contributors to their defense, gave away draft picks at will as emergency fixes to their holes on offense, and the final straw, of course, trading away DeAndre Hopkins– their best player, and the one that kept the passing offense working.
Meanwhile, the team lost in the weeds of the AFC South, the team thought to be a step or two behind the class of the division, the Tennessee Titans, now look ready to pounce. They look to have found their quarterback of the future, or at least the immediate future. They’ve surrounded him with young weapons on the rise like AJ Brown and Jonnu Smith. And they gave him a quarterbacks two best friends– a great offensive line and an elite running back.
Much like DeAndre Hopkins for the Texans, Derrick Henry powers the Titans offense, and he’s back on a new contract. Making Henry’s job easier along the offensive line are two elite players, Taylor Lewan at left tackle and Roger Saffold next to him at guard.
Tennessee has done what Houston was supposed to do– and now it’s about to pay off. They’ve brought in young players as key contributors. They’ve held onto their older veteran stars. And they’ve built a team that was just two touchdowns away from playing for a Super Bowl in 2019.
But before they try their hand at another playoff run, first, they have to wrestle control of the AFC South away from the Texans. And it starts in 2020.