Texans–Titans rivalry

Background

The Tennessee Titans were initially established as a Houston-based franchise known as the "Houston Oilers," debuting in the first season of the American Football League (AFL) in 1960. Despite achieving playoff success and featuring Hall of Fame players, the Oilers were unable to reach the Super Bowl. Bud Adams, the team's owner, expressed dissatisfaction with the Astrodome, considering it outdated, and sought a new stadium. In 1995, following unsuccessful negotiations, he opted to relocate the Oilers to Nashville, Tennessee, where they were rebranded as the Tennessee Titans. Houston was without an NFL team until the 2002 season when the league declared the return of football to the city with the establishment of the Houston Texans. Additionally, the NFL introduced realignments to its two conferences with each having North, South, East and West divisions. In the newly formed AFC South, the NFL placed the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Indianapolis Colts. Consequently, the Texans and Titans were scheduled to face each other twice annually: once in Houston and once in Nashville.

History

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 won 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. However, they were eliminated from postseason contention due to the Denver Broncos losing against the Kansas City Chiefs 7–3. If Tennessee had qualified to play in the NFL playoffs, they would have played the Texans in the AFC Wild-Card round.

In 2018, the Texans won the AFC South at 11–5, and split with Tennessee. The Texans would play either the Titans or Colts in the upcoming Wild Card game, depending on the Sunday Night Football winner between the two. The Colts won 33–17, eliminating the Titans from the playoffs at 9–7 and setting up a wild-card match between the Texans and Colts. Had the Titans won, it would've been the first meeting in the playoffs between the two teams, similar to 2011.

In 2019, the Texans Week 15 road game against Titans marked the first time that both teams were 8–5 at the same time. The Texans beat the Titans 24–21, and in Week 16 the Texans won the AFC South after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23–20. In the final week of regular season, the Titans faced the Texans on the road. The Titans needed to win the game or a Pittsburgh Steelers loss against the Baltimore Ravens in order to make the playoffs. Behind a 211-yard, three-touchdown day from running back Derrick Henry and the Texans resting starters, the Titans won 35–14 to clinch the sixth seed in the playoffs.

2020s

The most competitive games in the history of the rivalry came in 2020. On October 18 the Texans traveled to Nissan Stadium under interim coach Romeo Crennel, taking over for the fired Bill O'Brien. The Texans erased a 21–7 gap to lead 36–29, but the Titans stormed down and scored with seven seconds left. In overtime the Titans got first possession and advanced 82 yards on six plays ending in a direct snap touchdown run by Derrick Henry. In the second meeting of the 2020 season, Sam Sloman kicked a 37-yard field goal that bounced off the right upright and in to give Tennessee the 41–38 win. This was the highest-scoring game (79 points) in the history of the rivalry after the previous game set the record at 78 points.

Titans uniform controversy

For years, the Houston Texans had sought to regain the intellectual property of the former Houston Oilers name, logo, and uniforms. However, Titans owner Bud Adams and his daughter, current owner Amy Adams Strunk, repeatedly blocked these requests. The issue escalated in 2022, when the Titans announced the team was planning to wear their former Houston/Tennessee Oilers throwback uniforms for select games in the 2023 season. Many Houston fans argued that the uniforms belonged to Houston, but the Titans were able to wear the uniforms as they still retained the Oilers' history and name, as Amy Adams Strunk told owners "Oilers history is Titans history". In October 2023, days before the Titans planned to wear the uniforms for the first time in their Week 8 game against the Atlanta Falcons, former Texans defensive end J. J. Watt expressed displeasure about the Titans' plans on the The Pat McAfee Show, stating: "Having lived in Houston for 10 years and the people there and the connection that they have to Earl Campbell, to Warren Moon, to these guys that wore those...when they played in that Astrodome...it hurts to not have been able to wear those in Houston and it hurts to see them being worn somewhere else." The Titans also wore the uniforms in their home games against the Texans for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, with the Texans winning both games. After making changes to their primary uniform set following the 2024 season, the Titans announced that they would no longer wear the Oilers throwback uniforms.

Connections between the teams

Season-by-season results

|- | 13–3** 17–10** | Titans 2–0 | Texans join the National Football League (NFL) as an expansion team. During the NFL realignment, the Texans and Titans are placed in the newly created AFC South in the American Football Conference (AFC), resulting in two meetings annually. Titans make their first visit back to Houston since departing in the 1996 season when they were known as the Houston Oilers. |- | 27–24** 38–17** | Titans 4–0

| 31–21** 20–10** | Titans 4–2

| 34–20** 13–10** | Titans 6–2 | |- | 26–20 (OT)** 28–22** | Titans 8–2 | |- | 38–36** 28–20** | Titans 10–2

| | Tie 1–1 13–12** 31–12** | Titans 11–3

| | Tie 1–1 20–17** 34–31** | Titans 12–4 |

| | Tie 1–1 20–0** 31–17** | Titans 13–5

| | Tie 1–1 23–22** 41–7** | Titans 14–6 | |- | 38–14** 24–10** | Titans 14–8 | |- | | Tie 1–1 30–24 (OT)** 16–10** | Titans 15–9

| 45–21** 30–16** | Titans 15–11 | |- | 20–6** 34–6** | Titans 15–13 | |- | | Tie 1–1 27–20** 24–17** | Titans 16–14

| | Tie 1–1 57–14** 24–13** | Titans 17–15

| | Tie 1–1 34–17** 20–17** | Titans 18–16

| | Tie 1–1 35–14** 24–21** | Titans 19–17

| 41–38** 42–36 (OT)** | Titans 21–17 | In Tennessee, the Titans scored their most points in a game against the Texans and accumulated 607 total yards, setting a franchise record for their most yards in a game. In Houston, Titans clinch the AFC South for the first time since the 2008 season with their win and achieve their first season series sweep against the Texans since the 2007 season. |- | | Tie 1–1 28–25** 22–13** | Titans 22–18

| | Tie 1–1 17–10** 19–14** | Titans 23–19 | |- | 26–3** 19–16 (OT)** | Titans 23–21

| | Tie 1–1 32–27** 23–14** | Titans 24–22 | In Tennessee, the Titans wore their Houston Oilers throwback uniforms. Titans clinched the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft with their loss. |- | 26–0** 16–13** | Tied 24–24 |

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References

References

1. "All Matchups, Houston Texans vs. Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Tennessee Titans".
2. (2021-09-23). "Texans fans salty as Titans celebrate Oilers history this week".
3. McClain, John. (2009-11-20). "On Pro Football: Texans-Titans becoming serious rivalry".
4. McClain, John. (2016-08-19). "How the Oilers left Houston and set the stage for the Texans".
5. (November 29, 2010). "Andre Johnson Fights Cortland Finnegan: Texans Beat Titans 20-0 (VIDEO)".
6. (October 23, 2011). "Houston Texans vs. Tennessee Titans - Box Score - October 23, 2011". [[ESPN]].
7. (January 1, 2012). "Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans - Recap - January 1, 2012". ESPN.
8. Lambert, Terry A.. (2019-12-15). "Texans beat Titans 24-21, take back control of AFC South".
9. Davenport, Turron. (2019-12-30). "Titans seal last AFC berth to set up Pats matchup".
10. Walker, Teresa M.. (2020-10-19). "Sunday’s NFL: Henry, Titans rally past Texans 42-36 in OT, remain unbeaten".
11. Wyatt, Jim. (July 23, 2023). "The Story Behind the Titans Unveiling Oilers Throwback Uniforms".
12. Greenawalt, Tyler. (2023-03-06). "Titans reportedly plan to wear Oilers throwback uniforms during 2023 home game".
13. Mihalko, Mark. "Report: Texans considered attempting to regain rights to Oilers' intellectual property".