The Tennessee Titans (0-3) face the Houston Texans (0-3) at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, at 12:00 p.m. CDT this Sunday.

The Titans and Texans have a storied rivalry between two teams that claim the same city as home. Despite the Titans moving to Nashville, they still claim Houston as a huge part of their history. The Texans currently reside in Houston and are an expansion team that’s never made it past the divisional round of the playoffs.

Both teams have a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball, and while the Texans are 7-point favorites, the Titans are still very capable of pulling off a win. To do that, they’ll need to adhere to these six keys to victory.

Pressure C.J. Stroud

The Texans’ offensive line is pretty awful right now. They have allowed a pressure rate of at least 35.3% in every game, and the 40 total pressures allowed rank ninth-most in the NFL. Jeffery Simmons, the defensive line, and linebackers all need to be on top of Stroud as often as possible. Getting pressure on him will force him to make mistakes, take sacks, throw interceptions, and not have time to do anything productive in the pocket.

Trust the right receivers

Calvin Ridley has caught just 38% of the passes thrown his way through the first three games. Tight end Chig Okonkwo leads the team in receiving yards, catching 12 of 16 targets for 120 yards. Rookie Elic Ayomanor has caught 10 passes on 18 targets for 107 yards. These are reliable pass-catchers. Chimere Dike can fall into this category as well; he just keeps getting screwed out of big plays. Cam Ward needs to continue to target the guys who are catching passes.

More effort from the EDGE

The Titans have two whole sacks in 2025, one by Jeffery Simmons and the other by safety Amani Hooker. Arden Key, Femi Oladejo, Dre’Mont Jones, and Jihad Ward have got to get more involved in pressuring quarterbacks and locking down the edge. All four of them have been seemingly missing so far this season, and if Dennard Wilson wants his defense to improve, that has to change.

Rein in self-inflicted wounds

For the love of all things, can we PLEASE limit the self-inflicted wounds? The Titans have the most undisciplined team in the NFL, and this is a significant reason why Cam Ward has only two touchdowns this season. It’s the reason there are missed tackles on defense, and it’s the reason Brian Callahan gave up play-calling duties, because he needs to focus on fixing these problems.

Take advantage of turnovers

Stroud has thrown three interceptions this season, and the Texans have lost two fumbles. The Titans have a few takeaways this season, but they haven’t always created points from them. The offense has to make sure to score points when the defense gifts them the ball without letting their opponent score.

Put a spy on Nico Collins

L’Jarius Sneed can pretend all he wants that he doesn’t know who Nico Collins is, but we all know the truth. Collins is essentially the entire Texans’ offense, so Sneed has to stay on him like a fly. Amani Hooker and Xavier Woods need to be ready to help and provide support. If the Titans can shut down Collins, or at least limit his production, they stand a much better chance of winning this game.