Houston's Defense Finally Showed Up. Tennessee Barely Had an Answer.

I don't want to act like Houston fixed its entire season in one afternoon. But if you're the Texans, holding anybody to three points after an ugly start is exactly the kind of defensive response you needed.

Tennessee barely moved the football

Will Anderson Jr. finished with three sacks, and the Texans forced two turnovers. Tennessee had an opening field goal and never scored again. Cam Ward's offense looked stuck, not just unlucky. At some point a struggling offense has to show an actual plan to survive pressure.

I'm giving DeMeco Ryans credit for getting the defense to respond. At the same time, there's a difference between handling an 0-5 Tennessee team and proving you can do it against stronger competition. Houston got the job done. Whether this is a turning point is still an open question.