Titans RB Chris Johnson ran for 151 yards, his fifth straight game with more than 100, to help his team to a 20-17 victory.
Titans QB Vince Young completed 12 of 22 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for 73 yards in his return to his hometown.
DT Tony Brown had two of the Titans' four sacks, tying a career-high he set during the 2008 season.
CB Nick Harper returned to the Titans lineup after missing four games with injury and had an up-and-down night covering Texans WR Andre Johnson.
The Titans used Kevin Kaesviharn on punt returns even though he missed the whole week after his daughter was born prematurely with some complications.
Said Texans K Kris Brown after missing a key field goal for the second straight game, "It's all on me. It's totally
me. The frustrating part for me is we have 44 guys out there busting
their tail and one guy out there not doing his job. That's the reason
we lose the game. That's hard for me to take. I need to figure out what
the heck is going on and I need to figure it out pretty quick."
Texans CB Dunta Robinson said that he and the rest of Brown's teammates were plenty culpable for the loss as well.
Texans DE Mario Williams had a quiet game, finishing with four tackles and one hurry on Young.
He didn't fumble but Texans RB Steve Slaton's hands betrayed him on a third-down pass play that could have kept a drive moving in the fourth quarter.
John McClain of the Houston Chronicle gives all three Texans defensive position groups a D on his postgame report card.
Titans-Texans one-liners
Posted by Josh Alper on November 24, 2009 9:41 AM ET
Ahhh, but recall the camera shots on-field of the Houston fan's signs "This ain't Vince's House..."?
Beg to differ: In December of ;06, VY stabbed Houston in OT, running in a 37 yd. TD.
He didn't run to win by himself this time; he's a bit more nuanced this year. Grown up. Team leader, and all of that.
For Houston fan, the results are the same: Reliant is Vince's House.
http://twitpic.com/qq6j8
The Titans are going to make the playoffs.