Houston 10, Tennessee 13

1 2 3 4 T
HOU (1-12) 3 7 0 0 10
TEN (4-9) 0 3 7 3 13

Final

1:00 PM ET
December 11, 2005

Houston (1-11) at Tennessee (3-9)

SCOUTING REPORT
Texans unable to create turnoversAs both teams look to the future in the last month of the season, the focus begins to shift to evaluating young talent and the impact on draft positioning. The Texans have let two wins slip through their hands in two weeks, blowing fourth-quarter leads to the Rams and Ravens. Even with growing speculation that coach Dom Capers will be out of a job at the end of the year, his team is showing signs of life. The Titans were dismantled by the Colts on Sunday, something plenty of other teams have experienced this year.

With both of these teams wanting to get a win late in the season to build some momentum for next year, expect them to open up their playbooks and get creative this week. Both teams have the weapons -- Houston QB David Carr, RB Domanick Davis and WR Andre Johnson; Tennessee QB Steve McNair and RB Chris Brown -- to make this game entertaining.

 · Full Scouting Report
Matchup
 W-LPFPAHOMEROADDIVCONF
HOU2-142604312-60-80-61-11
TEN4-122994213-51-72-43-9
· Complete Standings
Individual Leaders
Houston Passing
 CMP%YDSTDINT
Schaub67.12958199
Tennessee Passing
 CMP%YDSTDINT
Collin...54.8107158
Young62.962332
Houston Rushing
 CARYDSAVGTD
Slaton1213803.13
Moats542204.13
Tennessee Rushing
 CARYDSAVGTD
Johnso...19912426.28
White612083.42
Houston Receiving
 RECYDSAVGTD
Johnso...5887815.15
Daniel...4051913.05
Tennessee Receiving
 RECYDSAVGTD
Britt2639315.11
Gage2230213.71
Full Player Stats: Houston | Tennessee
TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSETEAMPER GAME AVERAGE
Total YardsHOU
 
 253.0
TEN
 
 320.0
Yards PassingHOU
 
 139.8
TEN
 
 224.8
Yards RushingHOU
 
 113.5
TEN
 
 95.3
TEAM DEFENSETEAMPER GAME AVERAGE
Yards AllowedHOU
 
 364.0
TEN
 
 319.4
Pass Yds AllowedHOU
 
 220.1
TEN
 
 201.0
Rush Yds AllowedHOU
 
 143.9
TEN
 
 118.4
HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Tennessee leads 6-2
Oct 9, 2005HOU 20, @TEN 34
Nov 28, 2004HOU 31, @TEN 21
Oct 17, 2004HOU 20, TEN 10
Dec 21, 2003HOU 24, @TEN 27
Oct 12, 2003HOU 17, TEN 38
Dec 29, 2002HOU 3, @TEN 13
Nov 10, 2002HOU 10, TEN 17
null

Houston (1-11) at Tennessee (3-9) Sunday 1:00 pm EST

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- The Houston Texans must be a welcome sight to Steve McNair and the Tennesse Titans.

One week after suffering a rout at the hands of the NFL's best team, the Titans host the league's worst team on Sunday in an AFC South Division matchup.

Despite struggling through another injury-marred campaign, Tennessee has shown signs of offensive improvement with McNair at the controls over the last month.

Prior to their 35-3 loss last week against the Indianapolis Colts, the Titans had averaged 341 yards of total offense over their previous four games.

However, Tennessee stumbled offensively against the undefeated Colts on Sunday, going 2-for-12 on third downs and gaining a total of just 40 yards on the ground.

McNair completed 22-of-33 passes for 220 yards in the contest. He also was sacked twice and had a fumble returned by Larry Tripplett 60 yards for a touchdown.

The Titans have a considerably easier matchup this week, as they will host a Texans squad which has dropped all six of its road games this season.

Tennessee rolled to a 34-20 victory in Houston on October 9 behind the strong play of McNair, who threw for 220 yards and a pair of TDs.

David Carr completed 18-of-27 passes for just 131 yards and was sacked seven times in the contest for the Texans, who got 173 all-purpose yards from running back Domanick Davis.

Houston continued to close in on locking up the league's worst record with a 16-15 loss last Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens.

Kyle Boller threw for 77 yards in the final 64 seconds and Matt Stover kicked a 38-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining as the Ravens rallied from a pair of deficits in the fourth quarter to hand the Texans their fifth straight loss.

Davis ran for 155 yards on 29 carries - both season highs - but Houston committed a pair of turnovers and allowed Baltimore to sack Carr five times.

Matchup to watch: Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson against rookie cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, who has struggled this season.

Series: Titans lead, 5-2.

Next week: Houston hosts Arizona, December 18 Tennessee hosts Seattle, December 18

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NFL Scores

Sunday, December 11th 2005
New England 35 Final
Buffalo 7
Cleveland 20 Final
Cincinnati 23
Houston 10 Final
Tennessee 13
St. Louis 13 Final
Minnesota 27
Oakland 10 Final
NY Jets 26
Chicago 9 Final
Pittsburgh 21
Tampa Bay 20 Final
Carolina 10
Indianapolis 26 Final
Jacksonville 18
NY Giants 26 Final
Philadelphia 23 OT
Washington 17 Final
Arizona 13
San Francisco 3 Final
Seattle 41
Kansas City 28 Final
Dallas 31
Baltimore 10 Final
Denver 12
Miami 23 Final
San Diego 21
Detroit 13 Final
Green Bay 16 OT
Monday, December 12th 2005
New Orleans 17 Final
Atlanta 36