Key Titans starters returning and Texans ruled out, setting Cam Ward up to go from shutout to upset alert in Week 11

The Titans have the upper hand in at least one way in Week 11.

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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The Tennessee Titans host the Houston Texans in Nashville this weekend, the second meeting between the division rivals this season. In their first go-around, the Titans didn’t score a single point. The first three quarters were a riveting 6-0 slog, and then Houston opened up the floodgates on a lifeless Tennessee team in the final frame. They ended up winning 26-0 that day, the first outing for new Titans play caller Bo Hardegree after Brian Callahan had play calling duties taken from him. It wasn’t stellar.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that Cam Ward and company get another crack at them this weekend, and the Titans are trending in the right direction on the health front while the Texans aren’t. It might be the only reason the underdog Titans stand a chance at a big upset.

Key Titans starters returning after bye week

On Friday, interim head coach Mike McCoy told reporters that starting safety Xavier Woods and backup WR Bryce Oliver would be ruled out in Week 11. In fact, the bad news for Oliver got worse a matter of hours later which you can read about linked here.

That seems to be the extent of the bad news for the Titans, however. McCoy indicated that everybody else questionable to play stands a very good chance of getting the green light. That means the best player on the team, Jeffery Simmons, seems set to return for the first time since early in Week 7 when he hurt his hamstring. He’s still listed as questionable on the official injury report, but click here to see how he’s been talking on social media this past week. He sounds like he plans on being back, and that means the Titans defense gets their identity back.

Two other key starters poised to return are EDGE Arden Key and WR Calvin Ridley, who have both been out multiple weeks since before the Week 10 bye. The Titans traded their most productive edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones to the Ravens since the last time they played, so Key’s return is critical to filling that gap. And Calvin Ridley can only help with rookie Cam Ward on offense, regardless of how effective he’s prepared to be in his return. He’s still the best receiving talent on this football team.

Texans starters ruled out

Meanwhile on the Houston side of the ledger, things are a bit rough. Head coach DeMeco Ryans ruled out three starters early this week because of how clear it was they wouldn’t be ready to play. That list included starting kicker Ka’iMi Fairbairn, starting safety Jalen Pitre, and most notable of them all, QB CJ Stroud.

This means backup QB Davis Mills is on deck to play in his third straight game for Houston, but he’s not a backup to count out. He’s one of the best in the league, and the Texans’ offense has actually been more productive since he took over a couple weeks ago. That isn’t to say this small sample size proves he’s better than Stroud, of course not. But it does mean that Houston’s offense hasn’t skipped a beat since he came in.

But Vegas isn’t quite buying his replacement value it seems, as the injury news this week has led to the spread trickling down from Texans -7.5 all the way to -5.5 at some books. In such a low total game, this is a classic underdog cover spot. It’s hard to cover a touchdown-ish spread like this when the expectation is less than 40 total points scored. But the Titans tend to find a way recently anyways. Take their first game against Houston this year for example. They hope having the health upper hand this time around can be the boost they need to shock their Owner’s most hated team on Sunday.

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