Like I said yesterday, 3-0 feels pretty good. Yesterday's game was a whole lot different than I thought it would be, but the Titans won and that is all that matters.
The game didn't start so well for the Titans on offense when Kerry Collins was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage. Collins did a great job of coming back from that and having a solid day. I hope Vince Young was watching how a veteran reacts to a play like that.
The defense, as it did all day long, stood up and bailed Collins out by holding the Texans to a field goal off the interception. In fact, the Texans actually gained -7 yards on the possession.
The offense came roaring back with an 11 play 5:26 drive that ended with LenDale White's first of two touchdown runs on the game. I was pretty shocked to see Jeff Fisher go for it on 4th and 1 right there, but it shows that he has a lot of confidence in his offensive line to pick up short yardage.
The next Texans drive only lasted one play because, here you go gramsey, Michael Griffin picked off Matt Schaub. Griffin made a heck of a catch. This play was huge not only because it gave the Titans great field position, which they would give right back on the Justin McCareins fumble, but because Texans' coach Gary Kubiak challenged that Griff didn't come down in bounds. He lost the challenge, and that loss probably kept him from a couple of challenges he would have won later in the game.
The next Texans drive was the one where Steve Slaton ripped off the 50-yard run. The thing about that run is that he should have been tackled in the backfield, and if Hentrich is my Homeboy is correct, Keith Bulluck was held on the play. The Titans defense was once again able to minimize the damage and hold the Texans to another field goal.
The Titans drove down the field for another touchdown following that field goal. That drive went 10 plays in 4:18 and was capped by a touchdown pass to Bo Scaife. One of the many things that Collins appears to have brought to this offense is red zone efficiency. Yesterday the Titans came away with 3 touchdowns in 3 red zone trips.
The Texans scored their only touchdown of the day on the next drive that included 43 yards receiving by Owen Daniel on 2 catches. That drive was a little worrisome because it appeared the Texans had figured out how to move the ball against the Titans' defense, but Jim Schwartz and company made the proper adjustments.
The Justin McCareins 37-yard reception that should not have been set up The Round Mound's second touchdown run on the next drive. Collins did a great job of getting the offense down the field after the pass to McCareins was ruled complete to get a play off before Kubiak got a chance to get another look. There is no doubt that Kubiak throws the flag there if he hasn't already lost one challenge, and I was surprised that he still didn't go ahead and throw it because of the magnitude of that play.
That gave the Titans a 21-12 lead and sent Fisher into ultra-conservative mode. Collins threw just 11 passes for the rest of the game. I was not a big fan of just sitting on it from that point on, but that is Fisher's style. It worked yesterday so I guess we can't be all that upset about it.
The Texans offense would move the ball a little bit for the rest of the game but were unable to put any more points on the board. They would go for it 4 times on 4th down in the second half and not convert any of them. The first time was with 5:12 left in the 3rd quarter from the Titans' 10-yard line. I am sure Kubiak was kicking himself for that decision later in the game. The final 4th down attempt was picked off by Cortland Finnegan and returned for a touchdown to put the game away. It is going to be cool to see Finnegan playing in the Pro Bowl.