Texans, Titans face off desperately seeking first win after 0-4 starts

• DJ Bien-Aime

  Close

  

  DJ Bien-Aime

  ESPN

  DJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets for the New York Daily News. He's a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville. You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show "Talkin' Texans."
   and 

• Turron Davenport

  Close

  Turron Davenport

  ESPN

  Turron Davenport covers the Tennessee Titans for ESPN since 2018. Turron is a former collegiate football player at Cheyney University and is a native of Philadelphia, and he has authored/co-authored four books. You can catch Turron on ESPN Radio on his show "Talking with TD."

Oct 10, 2026, 06:00 AM ET

For the second consecutive year, the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans will face off in desperate need of their first win of the season.

Last season was a matchup between two 0-3 teams, only for this year to be even more dire with both sitting at 0-4 for their meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS).

Houston won last year's matchup 23-0 en route to a 12-5 record and a trip to the divisional round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Titans finished 3-14 for the second straight season and earned the No. 4 pick in the draft.

The Titans currently have a 10-game losing streak to AFC South opponents and are tied for the current longest regular-season losing streak at six games, and Houston, a team that came in with Super Bowl aspirations and were considered favorites to win the AFC South, needs to defy the odds (only one team -- the 1992 Chargers -- have made the playoffs after starting 0-4) to make the postseason for a fourth straight season.

"Anything's achievable." Titans coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday, "You get on a run and you start getting -- like momentum and confidence is such a big deal and a very, very underrated thing in the NFL. I just feel like if we can just get one, it'll snowball and who knows what will happen. But it's never over until that little 'E' shows up on the standings ... or whatever signifies that you've been eliminated. You just keep on fighting and even when you are eliminated, it still doesn't matter. You still got to show up and do your best."

For now, both are looking up at the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-1) and Indianapolis Colts (2-2) in the division through four weeks.

"One of the things we talk about is owning the South," Saleh said. "Owning it is not just a one-time thing. We want to own it for as long as we're here and this is our first crack at a division opponent."

The Texans already fell to the Colts in Week 3 in the only interdivisional game amongst AFC South teams in the first four weeks, so they already sit at the bottom of the division in that regard as well.

But if Houston were to get its first win of the season, Ryans would not only be denying one of his closest friends from getting his first win this season, he'd also be denying him from getting his first win as the head coach of the Titans.

"Saleh means a lot to me and when it comes to coaching and why I'm coaching," Ryans said. "He's going to have his guys fired up, ready to play. We're in the same position. I know he's bringing his best, we have to bring our best. It's always going to be a great matchup. He knows what we do. We have to know what he does defensively. May the best man win."

Titans looking to change directions

At this point, it looks like desperation is peaking for the Titans. Saleh said the team has to learn how not to lose before it can learn how to win. He pointed to turnovers, penalties and missed assignments as weekly examples of how the team puts itself behind the 8-ball.

The Titans have lost the past three games by a combined total of 17 points. Late mistakes have contributed to the Titans losing their past two games -- like a blown coverage that allowed the Philadelphia Eagles to score a last-minute game-winning touchdown in Week 2 and a backbreaking interception thrown by Cam Ward in the end zone on what would have been the go-ahead drive with seconds left against the New York Giants.

The first win would mean a lot to Saleh, but Houston is where he broke into the NFL as a defensive intern in 2005. He's not the only Titan that has a connection, as Titans controlling owner Amy Adams-Strunk, whose father Bud Adams founded the Houston Oilers in 1960 and moved the team to Tennessee, proudly sported an Oilers belt buckle as she gave a tearful speech after then-coach Brian Callahan's 32-27 Week 12 win over the Texans in 2024.

That's the last time the Titans beat Houston after losing three straight, but Saleh said he doesn't feel pressure from Adams-Strunk to win just because it's the Texans.

"I don't remember if she even talked about this one," Saleh said. "Like all of us, she's looking forward to finding a win, but I don't think anyone in this organization puts one game over the other. I recognize and acknowledge the history, but that was a lot of generations ago. If you're talking to the players that are on the football field, it's a rivalry because it's a division opponent, and we're trying to get a win."

Having grown up in the Houston area, Ward knows the significance of the rivalry. But like everyone else, he's simply seeking his first win regardless of the opponent.

"Every division game is a rivalry," Ward said. "We're both 0-4 teams. We're both searching for a win this year. It could really ... get us going in the right direction."

Texans look to spark change

Houston is searching for a way to heat things up after a cold start, and the next step toward that was coach DeMeco Ryans taking over the defensive playcalling duties.

After boasting one of the top defenses last season, the unit is one of the biggest reasons Houston is winless. The defense ranks 26th in points allowed per game (27.3), 20th in yards allowed per game (343.8) and has given up game-winning drives late in the fourth quarter in three of the first four games.

"Right now, we haven't done great the first four games defensively when it's been on guys to close the game out," Ryans said Wednesday. "It's just, 'Can we spark a little change?' [Defensive coordinator] Matt Burke has done a good job. We're not overhauling the defense, just trying to spark some change."

In contrast, Stroud, who's betting on himself after opting to not sign a contract extension prior to the start of the season, has done his part. He's sixth in passing yards (1,141) and sixth in explosive rate (20%) on his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. He has also led three potential game-winning drives in the fourth quarter.

Stroud came into the season under heavy criticism following his recent playoff run highlighted by a four-interception performance in the divisional round. But even after his promising start, he's focused on helping the team.

"It's all about winning," Stroud said. "So, looking at myself in the mirror, what else can I do to be better, to make us better on third down, keep us on the field, to control the game maybe a little."

Despite being 5-1 against the Titans since Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson Jr. were drafted with back-to-back picks in the first round of the 2023 draft, they aren't looking past their opponent.

"This is going to be a battle," Anderson said. "There are two teams facing each other that haven't won a game yet this year. For us, we're going to have to go in this game with the intensity that we have to get a win."