Step one: Score points this time.

The Tennessee Titans (1-8) host the Houston Texans (4-5) at Nissan Stadium on Nov. 16 (noon CT, FOX) in a rematch of one of the ugliest losses in recent memory. The Texans shut out the Titans 26-0 on Sept. 28, rendering quarterback Cam Ward and the offense essentially immobile. The team mustered only 175 yards of offense, tied for the 10th-fewest by a team in any game this season, and the 46 offensive plays run is tied for the seventh-fewest in a game in 2025.

It wasn’t turnovers or sacks or penalties. The Titans’ offense just couldn’t stay on the field. Eight of the Titans’ 10 drives spanned five plays or fewer with four three-and-outs. Some of this had to do with mitigating risk in a close game; the score was only 6-0 heading into the fourth quarter, and the Titans had missed two field goals despite playing without a starting tackle against one of the league’s best pass rushes. But that excuse only works if the Titans offense looked capable of sustaining a drive that turned the game around. With zero red zone trips and only three explosive plays all day, it’s hard to say that was the case.

Here’s The Tennessean’s scouting report and score prediction for the rematch.

Titans’ offense vs Texans’ defense

Let’s not overcomplicate things. This game pits the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense and No. 1 total defense against the NFL’s No. 32 scoring offense and No. 32 total offense. There’s room to quibble about minor advantages the Titans might have (the Texans aren’t great in the red zone, opponents tend to be able to target deep throws against the Texans’ secondary, etc.), but the fundamental truth is this is about as big of a mismatch as the league has to offer right now.

Barring a complete philosophical shift coming out of the bye week, the Titans’ offense doesn’t have many clear pathways to controlling this game.

Advantage: Houston

Titans’ defense vs Texans’ offense

Consider this a matchup of maybes. Maybe DT Jeffery Simmons and OLB Arden Key can return and keep the Titans’ steadily improving pass rush afloat after the bye week decision to trade OLB Dre’Mont Jones. Maybe the youth movement in the secondary will provide a new energy that wasn’t present with Quandre Diggs, L’Jarius Sneed, Roger McCreary and Jarvis Brownlee Jr. manning the back end. And maybe none of this matters if Texans QB C.J. Stroud comes back and gets to pick apart a defense that could be without as many as nine players who saw the field in Week 1.

Houston’s offense isn’t exactly lighting up scoreboards, and as mentioned before, it took the Texans more than three quarters to find the end zone the first time. But when the Titans are at a point where defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson can jokingly admit he hasn’t learned all of his players’ names yet, the edge is the edge.

Advantage: Houston

Titans vs Texans betting odds

The Texans are seven-point favorites to win, per BetMGM. The Texans moneyline is set at -350, and the Titans moneyline is +280. The over-under point total is set at 39.5 points.

Score prediction: Texans 21, Titans 10

Look, it’s the NFL’s best defense against the NFL’s worst offense. We’ve already seen the Titans lose a game where they score 14 points on defense and special teams, and that was against a merely top-eight defense. These Texans are the real deal defensively, and the Titans just don’t have the personnel to keep up.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at  nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.