The Tennessee Titans (0-3) travel to the Houston Texans (0-3) for a Week 4 game on Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium.

It’s a crucial matchup for both teams to avoid a further humiliating start to the season.

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Here are three reasons to think that the Titans will avoid the dreaded 0-4 start.

Cam Ward’s continued positive development

Despite the team’s big picture and offense this week, Cam Ward continued to impress on the past gameday. He started rough with that pick-6, struggling to see the cornerback. He bounced back after, doing his best to overcome his situation. Ward threw for over 200 yards for the first time and threw another passing touchdown. It was impressive when he was put on the move last week; his ability to pass effectively does not diminish on the move. It would be wise for the new play caller to utilize this aspect of his skill set.

Bo Hardegree’s play-calling history

This stat will be cited mercilessly this week in the Titans’ sphere. But the fact remains, Bo Hardegree had a big part in the Raiders’ offensive success in 2023 after Josh McDaniels’ firing. Hardegree works with the QB room already, namely Cam Ward. With that, Bo did things with the Raiders that allowed for a more QB-friendly offense.

Hardegree’s taste in play calling is certainly encouraging for a team that needs to mitigate the offensive line play. There is hope he can turn things around. Getting Ward on those boot actions that the Titans ran several times last week was clearly a positive as well.

Houston’s miserable offense

After all this discussion of the Titans’ offense, one wouldn’t expect many offenses to be lower rated than them. However, the Houston Texans are one of the teams that have scored fewer points than the Tennessee Titans so far. Both of these teams are in the bottom five in points for. There seem to be two main reasons why this is. The offensive line and CJ Stroud. Stroud has been struggling to mitigate the issues with his OL. He has taken a step back with his footwork compared to his rookie year, and this downturn started last year. The Titans’ defensive line could have a great day.

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This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans: 3 reasons for optimism in Week 4