| Texans–Titans rivalry | |
| Team1: | Houston Texans |
| Team2: | Tennessee Titans |
| Team1logo: | Houston Texans wordmark.svg |
| Team2logo: | Tennessee Titans wordmark, 2018.svg |
| City Or Region: | Houston, Nashville |
| First Contested: | November 10, 2002 Titans 17, Texans 10 |
| Mostrecent: | December 31, 2023 Texans 26, Titans 3 |
| Nextmeeting: | November 24, 2024 |
| Stadiums: | Texans: NRG Stadium Titans: Nissan Stadium |
| Total: | 44 |
| Largestvictory: | Texans: 57–14 Titans: 35–14, 38–17 |
| Currentstreak: | Texans, 3 |
| Longeststreak: | Texans: 5 (2014–2016) Titans: 7 (2005–2008) |
| Series: | Titans, 23–21 |
| Section Header: | Championship Success |
| Section Info: | Super Bowl Championships (0)
Conference Championships Appearances (5) Division Championships (14) |
The Texans–Titans rivalry is a professional American football rivalry in the National Football League (NFL) between the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans.
The Texans–Titans rivalry is an intense rivalry, pitting the Tennessee Titans (formerly based in as the Houston Oilers) with Houston's present-day team, the Texans.[2] The 2002 expansion and conference realignment by the NFL put a new team into Houston. With the expansion Texans in place, the NFL's realignment created the AFC South and put the two teams together as division rivals. During the 2000s, the Titans dominated the rivalry before the Texans would gain the upperhand in the 2010s.[3] The Titans currently lead the series 23–21. The two teams have not met in the postseason.
The roots can be planted back to 1996, when the former Houston Oilers relocated to Tennessee and rebranded the franchise as the Titans in 1999. Houston was awarded a new franchise in 2002 dubbed the Texans, and fans have quarreled over who was the better team in Houston.[4]
Another earlier roots for the rivalry is knowing that Tennessee was a common ancestral place for White Texan settlers back in the 1830s. Additionally, both states have large country music scenes.
The bitterness of the rivalry has led to fistfights between the teams during games. One notable fight was on November 28, 2010, when Texans receiver Andre Johnson and Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan exchanged blows after a play and were ejected. The Texans won that game 20–0.[5]
The rivalry became more competitive in 2011 as both teams were in the hunt for the division title most of the year. In Week 7, the Titans hosted the Texans in a match-up for the division lead and was the home field favorite while Houston was coming off of a 2-game losing streak. The Texans won 41–7 and went on to win the division that year.[6] In Week 17, Houston hosted Tennessee; the Titans had to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Titans won on a botched two-point conversion try by the Texans, who were trying for the win.[7] However, they were eliminated from postseason contention due to the Denver Broncos losing against the Kansas City Chiefs 7–3. If Tennessee had qualified to play in the NFL playoffs, they would have played the Texans in the AFC Wild-Card round.
In 2018, the Texans won the AFC South at 11–5, and split with Tennessee. The Texans would play either the Titans or Colts in the upcoming Wild Card game, depending on the Sunday Night Football winner between the two. The Colts won 33–17, eliminating the Titans from the playoffs at 9–7 and setting up a wild-card match between the Texans and Colts. Had the Titans won, it would've been the first meeting in the playoffs between the two teams, similar to 2011.In 2019, the Texans Week 15 road game against Titans marked the first time that both teams were 8–5 at the same time. The Texans beat the Titans 24–21,[8] and in Week 16 the Texans won the AFC South after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23–20. In the final week of regular season, the Titans faced the Texans on the road. The Titans needed to win the game or a Pittsburgh Steelers loss against the Baltimore Ravens in order to make the playoffs. Behind a 211-yard, three-touchdown day from running back Derrick Henry and the Texans resting starters, the Titans won 35–14 to clinch the sixth seed in the playoffs.[9]
The most competitive games in the history of the rivalry came in 2020. On October 18 the Texans traveled to Nissan Stadium under interim coach Romeo Crennel, taking over for the fired Bill O'Brien. The Texans erased a 21–7 gap to lead 36–29, but the Titans stormed down and scored with seven seconds left. In overtime the Titans got first possession and advanced 82 yards on six plays ending in a direct snap touchdown run by Derrick Henry.[10] In the second meeting of the 2020 season, Sam Sloman kicked a 37-yard field goal that bounced off the right upright and in to give Tennessee the 41–38 win. This was the highest-scoring game (79 points) in the history of the rivalry after the previous game set the record at 78 points.
| Name | Position(s) | Titans' tenure | Texans' tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andre Johnson | Wide receiver | 2016 | 2003–2014 |
| Gary Walker | Defensive end | 1995-1998 | 2002–2005 |
| Jadeveon Clowney | Defensive End | 2020 | 2014-2018 |
| Jason Babin | Defensive end | 2010 | 2004–2006 |
| Robaire Smith | Defensive tackle | 2000-2003; 2006 | 2004–2005 |
| Chris Brown | running back | 2003–2007 | 2008–2009 |
| Johnathan Joseph | Cornerback | 2020 | 2011–2019 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | Wide receiver | 2023–present | 2013–2019 |
|-| | style="| | style="| Titans
13–3| style="| Titans
17–10| Titans
2–0| Texans join the NFL as an expansion team. Both teams placed in the AFC South following 2002 NFL realignment. Titans make first return to Houston since leaving as the Oilers in 1996.|-| | style="| | style="| Titans
27–24| style="| Titans
38–17| Titans
4–0| |-| | style="| | style="| Texans
31–21| style="| Texans
20–10| Titans
4–2| Texans sweep the Titans for the first time.|-| | style="| | style="| Titans
34–20| style="| Titans
13–10| Titans
6–2| Titans go 4–12 on the season and Texans go 2–14, resulting in top-3 draft picks for each team|-| | style="| | style="| Titans
26–20(OT)| style="| Titans
28–22| Titans
8–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Titans
38–36| style="| Titans
31–28| Titans
10–2| |-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Texans
13–12| style="| Titans
31–12| Titans
11–3| Titans win 7 straight meetings (2005–08)|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Titans
20–17| style="| Texans
34–31| Titans
12–4| |-|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Texans
20–0| style="| Titans
31–17| Titans
13–5| Cortland Finnegan, Andre Johnson fight at game in Houston|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Titans
23–22| style="| Texans
41–7| Titans
14–6| |-| | style="| | style="| Texans
38–14| style="| Texans
24–10| Titans
14–8||-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Texans
30–24(OT)| style="| Titans
16–10| Titans
15–9| |-| | style="| | style="| Texans
45–21| style="| Texans
30–16| Titans
15–11||-| | style="| | style="| Texans
20–6| style="| Texans
34–6| Titans
15–13| |-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Texans
27–20| style="| Titans
24–17| Titans
16–14| |-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Texans
57–14| style="| Titans
24–13| Titans
17–15| Texans' 57–14 win is the biggest blowout in the series history (43 points)|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Texans
34–17| style="| Titans
20–17| Titans
18–16| |-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Titans
35–14| style="| Texans
24–21| Titans
19–17| Titans clinch final AFC Wild Card berth in their away win in week 17.|-|-| | style="| | style="| Titans
41–38| style="| Titans
42–36(OT)| Titans
21–17| Titans clinch AFC South in Houston in week 17. First time since 2007 that the Titans swept the Texans. In Nashville, Titans accumulate 607 total yards, their highest ever in a game in franchise history. Two highest-scoring games in rivalry|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Titans
28–25| style="| Texans
22–13| Titans
22–18| Titans clinch AFC's top seed with win in Houston.|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Titans
17–10| style="| Texans
19–14| Titans
23–19||- | | style="| | style="| Texans
26–3| style="| Texans
19–16(OT)| Titans
23–21||-| Regular season| style="|Titans 23–21| Tie 11–11 | Titans 12–10| |-