The Tennessee Titans win by losing to Houston Texans to end awful season | Estes

Breaking down the Tennessee Titans' season-ending 23-14 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium:

Talking points

• This was a favorable result for the Titans. Yes, they needed to lose to ensure a top-two pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. And the playoff-bound Texans obliged, taking a quick lead and continuing to dominate behind backup quarterback Davis Mills, who subbed in early for C.J. Stroud. Dameon Pierce’s 92-yard touchdown run in the second quarter made it 13-0, and a fourth-quarter, 36-yard fumble return for a TD by former Vols standout Derek Barnett fittingly punctuated this dreary afternoon and a miserable Titans season.
• Far more impactful: Sunday's game between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills. Titans fans paid close attention, knowing that a Patriots victory — combined with a Titans loss — would give Tennessee a No. 1 overall draft pick. And New England came through 23-16. The unlikely hero of this hour in Titans history? Former University of Tennessee starter Joe Milton quarterbacked the Patriots on Sunday.
• True to his word, Brian Callahan played two quarterbacks Sunday. Will Levis started after sitting the past two games. Coming off the bench, Mason Rudolph gave a little shove to an offense that punted on its first four possessions. Levis lobbed a late deep ball that Tay Martin somehow caught for a 49-yard touchdown. But there wasn’t much to write home about, quarterback-wise, much like the season that preceded it.
• The crowd at Nissan Stadium? Sparse. The weather at kickoff? Cold and overcast. And just when you’d have thought the fan experience couldn’t be any gloomier, it started pouring at the end of the first quarter. Heavy rain lingered into halftime. Those Titans fans still occupying seats when this thing ended deserved some sort of prize.

Where the game turned

The Texans took the opening kickoff and cruised 69 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown that spelled the end of the afternoon’s work for Stroud, who was 6-for-6 on that drive. At halftime, Houston held a 16-3 lead and a 263 to 89 edge in total yards.

Key number

3 — Wins for the Titans this season. The 3-14 record was the franchise’s second-worst in Tennessee, going back to the 2-14 season of 2014.

What I liked

The Houston Oilers throwback uniforms still looked pretty good. I'd be in favor of that as an annual tradition, though it hasn't worked well in home games against the Texans.

Oh, and Calvin Ridley needed 59 receiving yards Sunday to get to 1,000 for the season, and he eclipsed that mark with a 39-yard sideline catch to open the fourth quarter that was upheld by replay.

What I didn’t like

Titans players and coaches were put in a difficult spot in this game. Because it was clearly in the franchise’s best interest to lose. Beating the Texans wouldn’t have been worth a potentially significant slip in draft order. And that made this game kind of a joke from the start. You know what might help? For the NFL to consider a draft lottery.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.