HOUSTON – The Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans have different objectives in mind heading into Sunday’s regular-season finale.

For the Titans (8-7), the goal is clear-cut — win at Reliant Stadium and then hope for the magic combination of losses involving Cincinnati, Denver, Oakland and the New York Jets to earn their first playoff berth since 2008.

And that would set up a rematch with the Texans in the first round of the post-season right back in Houston.

“If we don’t take care of our business, there will be no scoreboard watching,” kicker Rob Bironas said. “We’ll be on the couch watching — for all of January.”

For the Texans (10-5), the incentive is more intangible — regaining the momentum they seem to have lost in two consecutive defeats after reeling off seven straight wins to clinch their first AFC South title.

Houston has nothing at stake in terms of post-season positioning. The Texans are locked into the No. 3 seed in the AFC, and will host a game on the first weekend of the playoffs, no matter what happens.

But no one in the locker room wants to go into the franchise’s first post-season game riding a losing streak.

“This game is more important than most people will ever know,” defensive end Antonio Smith said. “You think that since it doesn’t hurt us or help us as far as the playoff run, that it doesn’t matter.

“You’ve got to be firing on all cylinders when you go into the playoffs,” he said. “If not, man, ain’t no telling what will happen.”

The Texans kick-started their regular season with a 41-7 victory in Nashville on Oct. 23. They stayed in first place for the rest of the regular season, despite playing most of their games without star receiver Andre Johnson.

The five-time Pro Bowl selection has been practicing this week, and coach Gary Kubiak expects Johnson to play in the finale. Johnson sat out six games with a right hamstring injury that required minor surgery, started the next two games and then strained his left hamstring. He’s been sidelined for the last three games, and he’s eager to see some action on Sunday, just so he can regain some stamina and timing.

“I’m excited,” Johnson said. “I feel like I haven’t played football all year. It’ll be fun to get back out there and run around a little bit.”

Houston also hopes to have defensive co-ordinator Wade Phillips back calling the plays, but from the press box instead of on the sideline. Phillips, 64, returned to practice this week after undergoing kidney and gall bladder surgery on Dec. 15.

“It’s awesome to have him back,” rookie outside linebacker Brooks Reed said. “He just has that personality where no matter what goes wrong, he’s always calm and I think that is kind of contagious throughout.”

The Titans, meanwhile, only have flickering playoff hopes because of a 23-17 victory over Jacksonville last week. They lost to the previously winless Colts on Dec. 18, a setback that now looms large.

And they also remember how the Texans manhandled them on their home field, holding Tennessee to 148 yards and 11 first downs. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck conceded that the Titans took their divisional rivals too lightly the first time around.

“I think we probably underestimated how good they were physically,” Hasselbeck said. “They’re one of the premier teams in the NFL this year and it just hasn’t been the case sometimes in the past.

“They were fantastic that game we played against them here,” he said. “They were making plays all over the field in all phases and they really took it to us. I think that’s probably the toughest game we’ve played this year in terms of just, we were feeling one thing and they really disrupted what our thoughts were and took it to us.”

Chris Johnson rushed for only 18 yards in that game, but he’s had three 100-yard games since, all Tennessee victories. Johnson needs only 14 yards rushing on Sunday to reach 1,000 yards for the fourth consecutive season.

“We’re fully aware that he can just break out any time,” Reed said, “and we just need to secure edges and just make sure he doesn’t get out in too many open spaces because that’s where he’s dangerous.”

The Texans’ running backs dominated the earlier meeting.

Arian Foster and Ben Tate both went over 100 yards, and Foster also had 100 yards receiving. Foster, named to the Pro Bowl for the second straight season, has seven 100-yard games this year and has topped 100 yards rushing in Houston’s last two season finales, both victories.

In week 16, I posted a 1-1 mark with my predictions for the AFC South division. The Tennessee Titans made me look good in beating the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the Houston Texans were surprisingly beaten by the Indianapolis Colts. Despite just a 2-3 record over the past two weeks, my overall record still stands at a respectable 34-14. Here is a look at how I think the teams in the division will fare against one another in the last week of the 2011 NFL season.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts:

As mentioned earlier, the Indianapolis Colts earned their second straight win, knocking off the Houston Texans 19-16. Dan Orlovsky played efficient, completing 23-of-41 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown, while the ground game totaled just 95 yards on 32 rushing attempts. Reggie Wayne also had a solid game for the Colts, hauling in eight catches for 106 yards, including the game-winning touchdown.

On the other side, we have a Jaguars’ team, who played the Titans close last week, but still came up a bit short. With rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert struggling, Maurice Jones-Drew has been forced to shoulder the offensive load for a majority of the season. Last week, Drew rushed for 103 yards on 24 attempts and caught six passes for 21 yards, while Gabbert threw for 198 yards, completing just 50 percent of his 42 passing attempts.

This game is difficult to predict because the Colts have been terrible against the run this season, which should favor the Jaguars. However, in week 15, they limited Chris Johnson to under 60 yards en route to their first victory on the season. In week 16, they gave up 158 yards to Arian Foster and the result was still a victory. I haven’t picked the Colts often this year, but I will give them the edge this week, especially if they do a good job of containing Jones-Drew.

Houston Texans vs. Tennessee Titans:

Two weeks ago, the Texans were 10-3 and were a strong contender for the top seed in the AFC. However, following two straight losses to the Carolina Panthers and the Colts, they have to settle for the third seed. With that being said, the Texans will probably be more concerned with resting their starters for the postseason instead of winning this game. The Titans on the other hand, will have a sense of urgency in this match-up because they still have a slim chance of making the playoffs. With that being said, I think the Titans will emerge victorious in this one.

　

James Tillman is a resident of the Chicago-land area who has been an NFL fan for over 20 years. James is also a fan blogger on Yahoo Sports and NJFFL Dynasty. For interesting topics on the NFL, NBA and MLB, follow him on Twitter @jtillman9693.

　

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Week 17 NFL Picks and Predictions

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By Jeremy Mauss

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Dec 24, 2011 – The Houston Texans are a playoff team for the first time in franchise history which means they should be picking somewhere in the 20s for their first round pick. The Texans defense is already one of the best in the NFL but even with a good defense SB Nation’s first mock draft projects the Texans taking a nose tackle:

26. Houston Texans – Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis Tigers
Houston’s defense has been great this season. Imagine what they’ll do next year with a healthy Mario Williams and 350-pound guy who also possesses the athletic ability of a 300-pound defensive lineman at the nose tackle position.

Over at SB Nation’s NFL Draft blog Mocking the Draft, they have the Texans also taking Dontari Poe but at the No. 29 pick:

29. Houston Texans – Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis
The Wade Phillips defense has never really been built around nose tackle, but imagine what a guru like him could do with a player like Poe. Arguably the best nose eligible for the draft, Poe is a hulking figure up front who can occupy blockers and collapse the line. He’d take some pressure of ends J.J. Watt and Antonio Smith, which will allow Houston’s linebackers to make even more plays. The biggest beneficiaries of playing with someone like Poe will be Houston’s inside linebackers.

For more on the Houston Texans go check out Battle Red Blog, and for all things releated to the NFL Draft head over to Mocking the Draft.

Read More: 2012 nfl draft, Mario Williams (LB – HOU), Dontari Poe (DL – Memphis), Houston Texans, Memphis Tigers

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In what looked like it would be merely a playoff tuneup, the Texans looked anything but ready in a 19-16 loss on Thursday night. They settled for two field goals in the red zone, didn’t convert a third down until getting a lucky bounce late in the fourth quarter and struggled to run late in the game after Arian Foster shredded the Colts defense for three quarters.

All this against a team that lost its first 13 games.

“We had chances to put it away,” Texans quarterback T.J. Yates said. “We couldn’t get it in the end zone. That’s very disappointing. We have to score more points.”

The Texans (10-5) committed 11 penalties for 84 yards, and many of them bailed the Colts out of trouble.

“We had four or five roughing calls,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. “We’ve got to go back and see why. We’ve got to be tough enough to fix those penalties.”

When Brian Cushing broke through the line on the game’s first play, sacking Dan Orlovsky and stripping the ball, it looked as if it could be a replica of the teams’ first meeting, a 34-7 blowout. Foster ran for 8 yards on the next play, then scored on a 9-yard burst off the left side to give Houston a 7-0 lead.

The Texans never reached the end zone again. Instead of getting a win against their longtime tormentors, they added a clip to Reggie Wayne’s highlight film.

Wayne, who has an expiring contract and might not return to Indy next season, caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Orlovsky with 19 seconds left, giving the Colts their only lead of the game.

It’s the second straight win for the Colts (2-13), who will now have to fight off St. Louis and Minnesota for the No. 1 overall draft pick. Orlovsky, who played the last two seasons with Houston, also won his second straight game after losing his first nine NFL starts.

Foster carried 23 times for 158 yards but the Colts repeatedly stopped the Texans’ runners in the red zone.

“We didn’t turn the ball over nearly as much as we did in that (first) game,” Caldwell said. “But beyond that, I think we were pretty good at protecting the ball. I think our defense played extremely well even though they ran for 171 yards. It was kind of a bend but don’t break defense, but when they had to stop them in the red zone, they stopped them in the red zone.

Nobody got into the end zone again until Orlovsky took the Colts 78 yards in the final two minutes, thanks in part to three costly Houston penalties, two of them against rookie defensive end J.J. Watt. After a pass interference call against Glover Quinn put the ball at the Texans 1, Orlovsky lobbed the ball into the corner of the end zone and Wayne beat the coverage to make the catch.

“All in all, it was a great team win,” Caldwell said. “When the offense needed a drive, we got it. When we needed a field goal we got it. When we needed a stop we got it.”

Orlovsky was 23 of 41 for 244 yards with the one TD. Joseph Addai ran 19 times for 59 yards.

Yates wound up 13 of 16 for 132 yards in a return to his hometown.

And this one go down as the final home game for not only Wayne and Orlvosky, but also key Colts cornerstones such as Jeff Saturday and Robert Mathis — and possibly even Peyton Manning, though Colts owner Jim Irsay told NFL Network that if Peyton Manning plays in 2012, it will be in Indianapolis.

NOTES: Before the game, Colts owner Jim Irsay told NFL Network that if Peyton Manning plays next year, it will be in Indianapolis. … Wayne also moved past Rod Smith for No. 18 on the NFL’s career receptions list. Smith finished with 849. Wayne now has 854. … Houston’s four-game winning streak came to an end. … Adam Vinatieri missed a 42-yard field goal just before halftime, ending his streak of 33 consecutive field goals made at Lucas Oil Stadium.

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