The Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans meet Sunday at Nissan Stadium with both teams still searching for their first win of the season. Houston (0-4) visits Tennessee (0-4) at 1 p.m. ET in a Texans vs Titans Week 5 matchup that marks just the seventh time in the Super Bowl era that two 0-4 teams have faced each other, according to CBS Sports. The biggest question entering kickoff is whether either team’s recent flashes of improvement, Houston’s pass rush or Tennessee’s rookie-driven offense, can finally translate into a victory.
Texans Vs Titans Week 5 Game Information
- Date: Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026
- Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Venue: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
- TV: CBS
- Weather: 68 degrees, 56% chance of precipitation
The two franchises have met 48 times before Sunday, and this will be the 25th season of the AFC South rivalry since the division launched in 2002, per the Titans’ official game preview. Houston has won the past three meetings and six of the past seven, with the most recent coming as a 16-13 Texans victory on Nov. 16, 2025, also in Nashville. The all-time series sits dead even at 24-24, and each team is 12-12 at home in the matchup.
Can Either Winless Team Finally Break Through?
Houston has lost its first four games by a combined 11 points, including a 34-30 defeat to Dallas last week. Tennessee’s closest call came in a 24-18 loss to Baltimore, a game in which a late touchdown and two-point conversion were not enough to close the gap. History offers little comfort for a quick turnaround: only the 1992 San Diego Chargers have rallied from an 0-4 start to reach the playoffs, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Houston has some recent precedent for turning a season around, though. The Texans shook off a sluggish start last year and finished 12-5, with that season’s first win coming against these same Titans.
What Is The Status Of Key Injured Players?
Tennessee’s injury report includes wide receiver Carnell Tate (torso/back), tight ends David Martin-Robinson (hamstring) and Gunnar Helm (knee), and safety Amani Hooker (concussion), all listed as questionable for Sunday. Cornerback Joshua Williams remains on injured reserve with a pectoral injury. For Houston, offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery and guard Ed Ingram are questionable with an illness, while tackle Braden Smith (plantar fasciitis), defensive tackle Kayden McDonald (ankle sprain) and wide receiver Tank Dell (ACL and MCL surgery) remain on injured reserve. All of these designations are projections, not final confirmations, and a full status update is not expected until closer to kickoff.
How Have The Rookies Changed Each Offense?
Tennessee’s offense has leaned heavily on first and second-year players, with 27 combined starts from that group through four games, more than every team but Miami (42) and Cleveland (30). Rookie receiver Carnell Tate leads all rookies with 22 catches and ranks second among them with 268 receiving yards. He caught nine passes for 145 yards last week against Baltimore, the most by a Titans player in a single game since A.J.
Brown’s 145-yard outing against San Francisco on Dec. 23, 2021, according to the Titans. Rookie linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. has piled up 42 total tackles, third most in the league. On the other side, Houston quarterback C.J.
Stroud has thrown for 1,141 yards with five touchdowns and zero interceptions, and receiver Nico Collins caught seven passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns last week, the first Texans player with 100 receiving yards and two touchdown catches in a game since Tank Dell did it on Nov. 5, 2023.
By The Numbers
- Points per game: Texans 21.0, Titans 13.8
- Passing yards per game: Texans 285.3, Titans 181.5
- Rushing yards per game: Texans 79.0, Titans 89.0
- Total yards per game: Texans 364.3, Titans 270.5
- Third-down conversion rate: Texans 35.19%, Titans 35.42%
- Sacks allowed: Texans 12, Titans 6
- Sacks recorded: Texans 14, Titans 8
- Turnover differential: Texans +1, Titans -3
- Red zone scoring rate: Texans 71.43%, Titans 75.00%
The Titans have allowed only six sacks all season and just one over their past two games, a sign of progress up front for a team otherwise near the bottom of most offensive categories. Houston’s defense has recorded 14 sacks in four games but has also shown more vulnerability than in past seasons, a step back that according to CBS Sports may partly reflect the strength of the offenses it has faced early on.
Texans Outlook
Houston’s offense has produced 364.3 total yards per game, well ahead of Tennessee’s 270.5, and Stroud’s zero interceptions through four games stand out given the team’s 0-4 record. The Texans rank better than the Titans in points per game (21.0 to 13.8) and have a positive turnover differential at plus-1, compared to Tennessee’s minus-3. Defensive end Will Anderson Jr. is tied for third in the NFL with four and a half sacks, second with seven tackles for loss and third with 26 quarterback pressures, giving Houston a pass-rush identity even as the unit overall has allowed more points than in recent seasons. Head coach DeMeco Ryans has taken the Texans to the divisional round in each of his first three seasons, a track record that stands in contrast to this year’s winless start.
Titans Outlook
Tennessee’s offense remains the league’s lowest scoring among the two teams at 13.8 points per game, but the unit has shown signs of life through its young skill players. Running back Tony Pollard has carried the ground game with 221 yards on 54 attempts, helping Tennessee outgain Houston on the ground, 89.0 yards per game to 79.0. Quarterback Cam Ward has thrown for 726 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
In the fourth quarter against Baltimore, Ward hit Wan’Dale Robinson for a three-yard touchdown pass and then found Gunnar Helm for a two-point conversion. Defensively, the Titans have racked up 21 tackles for loss over the past three weeks, the most in the NFL in that span, and held Baltimore to just two conversions on 10 third-down attempts last week, with Jermaine Johnson II adding a sack and two tackles for loss. First-year head coach Robert Saleh, who serves as a mentor to Ryans, is still seeking his first win in Nashville after four consecutive losing seasons for the franchise before this year.
Key Matchup: Texans’ Pass Rush Vs. Titans’ Protection
The clearest matchup to watch is Houston’s pass rush, led by Anderson and Danielle Hunter, against a Tennessee offensive line that has limited sacks allowed to six all season, including just one over the last two games. The Texans have recorded 14 sacks as a team, well above Tennessee’s six allowed, but how that pressure holds up against an improving Titans front will shape whether Ward has time to keep feeding his young receivers.
Players To Watch
C.J. Stroud, QB, Texans
Stroud has not thrown an interception through four games while piling up 1,141 passing yards and five touchdowns, numbers that have kept Houston competitive despite the 0-4 record.
Carnell Tate, WR, Titans
Tate leads all rookies with 22 catches and ranks second among first-year players with 268 receiving yards, and he is listed as questionable for Sunday with a back injury.
Will Anderson Jr., DE, Texans
Anderson is tied for third in the NFL with four and a half sacks and ranks second with seven tackles for loss, making him the focal point of Houston’s pass rush.
What To Watch
Both the Texans and Titans sit at the bottom of the AFC South standings with 0-4 records, while Jacksonville (3-1) and Indianapolis (2-2) have pulled ahead early in the division race. Tennessee has lost 10 straight games inside the division, with its last AFC South win coming Nov. 24, 2024, in Houston. The Titans are also still chasing the franchise’s 500th win all time, including playoff games. For Houston, Sunday offers a chance to avoid matching last year’s slow start with an outright winless mark through five games, something the franchise avoided by beating these same Titans a year ago.
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