When the Houston Texans shut out the Tennessee Titans in Week 4, it was a brutal slog that most fans tuned out of shortly after Jeffery Simmons made his incredible insta-sack early in the game.
Since the final whistle in that 26-0 nightmare, there have been a lot of changes for the Titans. While the most obvious change is that they are now looking for a new head coach, this will be a much different team than the one that the Texans saw in September.
How different? You can look at every position group except quarterback, and there has been a change in personnel and/or how they are used. Let's start with the most important change: the help around Cam Ward.
Keynote returning Titans players could help them upset Texans in Week 11
On the offensive line, the Titans will have mammoth offensive tackle JC Latham back to help anchor against the ferocious pass rush of the Texans. Another sneaky upgrade is that Lloyd Cushenberry seems to be back to his normal self the last few weeks, and after the bye week, there is a good chance that Cushenberry is in the best shape of his Titans career.
When it comes to skill position players, Tyjae Spears missed the first matchup with the Texans, and he has been exciting with the ball in his hands since his return. A rested Tony Pollard and a dynamic Spears should make the Titans running game harder to defend this time around.
In the passing game, Calvin Ridley is set to return this week, and he was on track for a big showing against the Texans before he was injured and had to miss nearly half of the game. Having a fresh Ridley and with rookies like Gunnar Helm and Chimere Dike starting to factor in more and more, this will be the first time that the Titans have had all of their best weapons available this year.
On defense, T'Vondre Sweat missed the first game on I.R., but he is back and playing well, and Simmons will be back from injury as well. Those two defensive tackles could finally be on the field together for more than a handful of plays for the first time all year, and the interior of the Texans offensive line looked overwhelmed by Simmons alone in their first meeting. Putting these two together with a surging Jihad Ward and Sebastian Joseph-Day could make this defensive front a nightmare for a Texans offense that will be without starting quarterback CJ Stroud.
Finally, the second and third levels of this defense should be more exciting this time around. Dennard Wilson is getting a better feel for how to use Cedric Gray, and Cody Barton is coming off his best game of the season. While the Titans defensive backs will be missing the three cornerbacks they started the season with, they do get some juice from a healthy Kevin Winston Jr., who is going to have a chance to prove he was a smart pick in the third round.
Altogether, there could be as many as 11 different players featured in the game plan this week compared to when the Titans went on the road to face the Texans in September. Some will be downgrades, but the vast majority will be substantial upgrades, and the Titans had a bye week to prepare a game plan around those changes.
Tanking fans don't want to hear this, but the Titans could make this a very close game, and they could even win a game that they will regret in April.