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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- It may have been a career day for Texans' quarterback David Carr and receiver Corey Bradford, but it was yet another huge loss Sunday for a team that has yet to win two games in a row.

On Sunday, the Texans lost 38-17 to the Titans, who previously called Houston home.

Allen's Analysis

Question on the Texans: Despite the loss, do you think Carr is starting to come into his own? Yes, I do. He has shown marked improvement over the past season. Carr isn't repeating the same mistakes he did last season and isn't holding onto the ball as long. If someone else on this team can step up, this could be a good team in no time at all. Question on the Titans: Are the Titans the most up-and-down team in the league? No. The Titans play solid football. They don't play down to the level of their competition and play well with the "big boys" of the league. The reason for their differing results this season is the teams they've played. Eric Allen played cornerback for 14 NFL seasons with the Eagles, Saints and Raiders.

"I would have much rather won the game than throw for all those yards," Carr said of his career-high 371 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown pass in the third to Bradford, who caught five passes for 127 yards, and a 13-yarder to Derick Armstrong in the fourth.

But Titans quarterback Steve McNair also had a big day, finishing with a career-high 421 yards passing including three touchdowns to Derrick Mason as the Titans routed the Texans.

"You can't sugarcoat what happened today," Texans coach Dom Capers said. "They came out and outplayed us. That is why they won by 21 points."

In the second quarter, the Titans led the Texans 21-0. The Texans finally got on the board with a Kris Brown field goal just before the first half expired.

"It was a big lead they had and we weren't able to come back," Carr said. "We were in a situation today where things got out of hand pretty quick. It was just tough."

Titans coach Jeff Fisher said his team outplayed a Texans' team much different from the one he had watched on tape.

"That was not indicative of the way they have been playing or of the football they are going to play for the rest of the year," he said. "We just ran away from them."

The Texans have yet to win consecutive games. Coming off a bye last week, the team came to Nashville after enjoying their last-second 24-20 victory over Jacksonville in which Capers let Carr dive for the winning touchdown.

The Titans (4-2) returned home for their only October game in Nashville determined to erase the memory of last week's loss at New England. It wasn't hard against Houston (2-3) as Tennessee also intercepted three passes, returning one for a touchdown.

Erron Kinney dropped McNair's first pass on the Titans' second play, but McNair completed his next 12, including touchdown passes of 32 and 46 yards to Mason for a quick 14-0 lead.

McNair had plenty of time to pass. When the Texans pressured him, McNair still completed his throws. He so frustrated Houston linebacker Antwan Peek that Peek pounded the ground in frustration after McNair threw a 7-yard completion to Mason.

McNair finished the first half 11-of-12 for 233 yards and a perfect 158.3 rating, the third time in his career he has done that. He finished 18-of-27, which included a 50-yard touchdown to Mason at the start of the fourth quarter for a 30-10 lead.

The victory was the 80th for Titans coach Jeff Fisher, making him the fourth-youngest coach to reach that total behind John Madden, Don Shula and Bill Cowher.

Texans running back Stacey Mack had boasted that they would try to do just what New England had done to the Titans, which was run for 161 yards. Tennessee linebacker Keith Bulluck had promised none of the Texans would top 100 yards, and the Titans backed him up, limiting the Texans to 91 yards rushing.

"It was just one of those days where everything that could go wrong, went wrong," Texans' defensive end Gary Walker said. "When we made a mistake, they capitalized on it and make plays."

Walker said the Texans' defense has to concentrate on stopping offenses or else they might be in trouble.

"This is a copycat league, so I am sure when the Jets come to town next week they will run the same stuff," he said. "We better go to work this week and iron those wrinkles out."