Titans beat Texans, clinch No. 1 seed in AFC

The Tennessee Titans got the break they needed last week. Today, they took care of business in Houston.

Tennessee is your No. 1 seed in the AFC, clinching a bye week that gives star running back Derrick Henry yet another full week of rest before coming back for the playoffs. This was all made possible by a dramatic Cincinnati Bengals win over the Kansas City Chiefs last week.

Needing just a win today to clinch, the Titans came out sizzling, but things got interesting late.

An 11 play, 94 yard drive was capped off by an Anthony Firkser touchdown to start the scoring. A big play from D’Onta Foreman got the Titans in range, and Tannehill was able to find the endzone to grab an early lead.

The Titans made it 14-0 on the following possession, scoring on a nine play, 85 yard drive to make it 14-0. A.J. Brown got on the board this time, scoring on a 14 yard catch and run.

21-0 was next, as the Titans capitalized on a defensive pass interference call to get the ball at the goal line. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine was the recipient this time, giving Tennessee a commanding lead at the halftime break.

Opening the third quarter, the Texans finally found the scoreboard. Rex Burkhead made an impressive grab, and then Chris Moore hauled in a 28 yard touchdown pass to cut into the Tennessee lead, making it a 21-7 game.

The Titans were forced to punt on their first possession of the third, and they did so again on their second. That opened the door for Davis Mills and the Texans, and they took advantage.

Mills found Danny Amendola in the endzone to bring us to a 21-16 game, and the Texans were able to convert the two-point conversion to bring the score to 21-18.

The Texans came storming back, and suddenly the Titans needed an answer.

Ryan Tannehill delivered that answer. On a key third down, Tannehill danced away from pressure and found Westbrook-Ikhine to convert and flip the field. Tannehill then converted another to Anthony Firkser. He then found Julio Jones for a massive touchdown — Jones’ first as a Titan.

The new score was 28-18.

Once again, Davis Mills answered the call again. Mills was unstoppable in the second half, manufacturing yet another touchdown drive ending in another Amendola score.

With under four minutes to play, the new score was Tennessee 28, Houston 25.

Tennessee needed a couple of first downs to salt this one away. Dontrell Hilliard was able to pick one up just before the two-minute warning. He picked up another right after to end the game.

The Titans won this one 28-25. It wasn’t pretty, but mission accomplished.

The Titans are your No. 1 seed on the AFC side. They now have next week off, and will await the lowest seed remaining in two weeks. Meanwhile, Derrick Henry will keep working towards his return, which should come just in time for Tennessee to make a playoff run.