REID SAYS BROWN’S TYING CATCH SHOULDN’T HAVE COUNTED.
Tennessee wide receiver A. J. Brown leapt over Texans cornerback Bradley Roby on a fade pass from quarterback Ryan Tannehill during the final seconds of regulation Sunday.
Brown got his right cleat down in the end zone, then dragged his left foot after catching the football with his left knee landing out of bounds.
It was an extremely close call on a game-tying touchdown that ultimately was upheld following an instant-replay review.
Brown’s second of two touchdowns helped position the Titans for a 42-36 overtime victory at Nissan Stadium.
Brown acknowledged he was nervous waiting for officials to determine if it was a score.
“I knew it was coming to me, just make sure I secure the catch and make sure I try to get my feet down,” Brown said. “And to be honest, I didn’t feel my left foot come down. I was kind of nervous, but I thought my shin or knee was down. I made it close, but next time I most definitely would double-tap my feet. “
Texans safety Justin Reid disagreed with the call after watching replays of Brown’s catch in the corner of the end zone.
“Yeah, I was a little disappointed in the call, especially seeing the replay with his knee being out of bounds,” Reid said. “But when it’s that close and you leave it up to the officials, you might not always get the result that you want. So, it’s just a disappointing ending to the game.”
Despite strong outing, Watt still not satisfied
As the Texans rallied against the Titans on Sunday, veteran defensive end J. J. Watt was a major factor in the comeback.
Watt capitalized when offensive tackle Taylor Lewan got hurt, schooling his replacement, Ty Sambrailo. Watt’s strip-sack against Ryan Tannehill was recovered by linebacker Jacob Martin, setting up the Texans’ first lead.
Watt finished with four solo tackles, his franchise-record 99th career sack and 24th forced fumble and one pass defensed. He leads the Texans with three sacks.
“I feel like I had opportunities, took advantage of a few of them and just needed to make one more play to get a win,” Watt said. “And I didn’t do that. So I put that on me. I got to go out
there and make a play and win the game, and I didn’t do that at the end. I got to find ways to make more plays.”
Without Watt, there’s no telling how many yards and points the Texans’ defense would have yielded. They allowed a franchise-record 601 yards of total offense.
“I think J. J. had a great game,” safety Justin Reid said. “Made a lot of plays, really stepped up his leadership role. It’s on all of us, the defense. It can’t just be on one person.”
Clowney happy to win first game vs. old team
In his first game against the
Texans since they traded him to the Seattle Seahawks last year, Jadeveon Clowney finished with two tackles and no sacks while primarily rushing against right offensive Tytus Howard but was satisfied with getting a victory.
“Oh, it’s up there,” said Clowney, who signed with the Titans in the offseason. “Going to overtime and winning in overtime in the style we did, watching him come down there and truck the ball down the field, (running back) Derrick Henry. It was pretty exciting.
“I was telling them, ‘I don’t think we’re going to have to go out there on defense because of Derrick Henry, they’re going to run the ball down their throat.’ ”
Clowney is enjoying playing for fiery Titans coach Mike Vrabel, his former position coach and defensive coordinator with the Texans.
“Man, he’s always in the game,” Clowney said. “What you see from him is what you are going to get 24/7. He’s a highintensity guy. He’s always in the game and keeps your energy level up. It’s a contagious thing around the locker room.”
Watson leads offense as run game struggles
The Texans continued to be one-dimensional on offense, relying on quarterback Deshaun Watson as the running game continues to struggle.
The Texans rushed for 92 yards on 27 carries, averaging 3.4 yards per run.
David Johnson, acquired in the DeAndre Hopkins trade, rushed for 57 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries. Duke Johnson ran for nine yards on four carries as Watson rushed for 26 yards on four carries while throwing four touchdown passes.
“Yeah, we’re building,” Watson said. “It’s a lot of moving parts. Every team is different, every scheme is different. We’ve got to be able to figure out what the scheme of the defense is trying to play and what we want to attack. Let them work the space and find the holes and just continue to build on that.”