Next meeting TBD | Meetings total 29 | |
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First meeting November 10, 2002Tennessee 17, Houston 10 Latest meeting January 1, 2017Tennessee 24, Houston 17 All-time series Tennessee leads 16–14–0 Largest victory 34 pointsHouston 41, Tennessee 7 (October 23, 2011) | ||
The Texans–Titans rivalry is an NFL rivalry between the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans.
The Texans–Titans rivalry is an intense rivalry, pitting the Tennessee Titans (formerly based in Houston as the Houston Oilers) with Houston's present-day team, the Texans. The 2002 expansion and conference realignment by the NFL put a new team into Houston. With the expansion Texans in place, the NFL's realignment created the AFC South and put the two teams together as division rivals. Following the 2016 matchups between the teams, the Titans lead the series 16-14.
2010s
The bitterness of the rivalry has led to fistfights between the teams during games. One notable fight was on November 28, 2010, when Texans receiver Andre Johnson and Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan exchanged blows after a play and were ejected. The Texans finished that game 20-0.
The rivalry became more competitive in 2011 as both teams were in the hunt for the division title most of the year. In Week 7, the Titans hosted the Texans in a match-up for the division lead and was the home field favorite while Houston was coming off of a 2-game losing streak. The Texans won 41–7 and went on to win the division that year. In Week 17, Houston hosted Tennessee; the Titans had to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Titans won on a botched two-point conversion try by the Texans, who were trying for the win. Due to the playoff scenarios, the Titans missed the playoffs. If Tennessee made the playoffs, they would have faced the Texans.