FOUR THINGS TO WATCH

How to replace J.J. Watt

No individual player can replace J.J. Watt and what he meant to the defense as a pass rusher and run stopper. Whitney Mercilus, John Simon, Jadeveon Clowney and Benardrick McKinney, who have combined for 7½ of the team’s 10 sacks, have to elevate their games a notch or two. They need to register more sacks, hits on the quarterback and tackles behind the line of scrimmage. They have to keep Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota in the pocket and hit him a lot.

Stop the run on defense

The Texans are 26th against the run. The Titans are eighth in rushing. In the loss at New England, the Patriots ran for 185 yards and three touchdowns. In their last two games against the Chiefs and Patriots, the Texans have surrendered runs of 25, 28, 27 and 41 yards. Titans running back DeMarco Murray has a 67yard run and averages 6 yards a carry. The Titans average 5.1 yards a carry. Rookie Derrick Henry (63, 247) is a power back and a huge target.

Find end zone on offense

The Texans have scored three touchdowns in three games. They’ve scored 42 points, tied with the Titans for the fewest in the league. The Texans also are last in red-zone touchdowns. They need a breakout game for Lamar Miller, who averages 24.6 carries and 28 touches a game. That workload is bound to work against him. What Miller needs is better blocking so he can turn his speed into long runs. Brock Osweiler must avoid interceptions.

Put special in special teams

After showing improvement in the first game, the special teams have regressed. The New England game was awful – two fumbled kickoffs that gave the Patriots possession at the Texans’ 22 and 21, both leading to touchdowns. Rookie Tyler Ervin isn’t getting the job done on returns, averaging 5.9 yards on punts and 20.7 on kickoffs. Any kickoff that goes in the end zone should be downed to start the drive at the 25. Coverage teams are mediocre.