Tannehill’s 4 TD passes help secure AFC’s top spot
HOUSTON — After a great first half, the Titans were clinging to a three-point lead in the fourth quarter Sunday, having allowed the Texans to score 18 straight points.
With the AFC’s top seed on the line, quarterback Ryan Tannehill knew he had to do something to rally his team.
“I told the guys: ‘We need to make a play. We need our best right now,’ ” Tannehill said.
Tannehill then orchestrated an eight-play, 85-yard drive capped by his fourth touchdown pass of the day, winning 28-25 and clinching that top AFC spot for the first time in 14 years and a first-round bye.
“That was my mind-set that we needed our best football,” said Tannehill, who tied a career high for TD passes in a game. “I needed to be great in that critical moment, and we were able to make those plays.”
The Titans (12-5), who secured their second straight AFC South title the previous weekend, have the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the third time since leaving Houston in 1997 and first since 2008.
“These things don’t happen too often,” safety Kevin Byard said. “We’ve got guys in the locker room who have never been a one-seed and been in the league 10-plus years. We’ve definitely got to relish in this moment and understand that this is big time.”
Tannehill threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter to put the Titans up 21-0 at halftime.
The Texans (4-13) came alive in the second half to cut their deficit to three before Julio Jones caught his first touchdown pass of the season on a 3-yard grab that made it 28-18 with about seven minutes left.
Tannehill’s big day — 23for-32 for 287 yards — came after he threw a career-high four interceptions in a 22-13 loss the first time Tennessee played Houston this season Nov. 21.
“He came up with some huge plays,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “I thought he was in command most of the day executing the stuff.”
In the fourth quarter, the Texans capped an eight-play, 82-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown catch by Danny Amendola early in the fourth quarter. Stanford alum Davis Mills connected with Amendola again on the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 21-18.
Houston cut the lead to three again when Amendola’s second touchdown reception of the game made it 28-25 with 4½ minutes to go. Tennessee got a first down on 3rd-and-2 and ran out the clock to secure the victory.
Houston head coach David Culley was encouraged by how his team finished after a slow start.
“This football team has always played hard,” Culley said. “We haven’t always played smart, but we’ve played hard. Today, I think we played hard and we played smart.”
Amendola had seven receptions for 113 yards.