Titans beat Texans, clinch playoff spot

HOUSTON – Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans ran their way into the playoffs, beating a Houston Texans team that rested several starters and setting up an intriguing first-round matchup with New England.

Henry rushed for a season-high 211 yards and three touchdowns in the Titans’ 35-14 victory on Sunday. The Texans beat the Titans two weeks ago to take control of the AFC South and locked up the division last week, allowing Houston to sit quarterback Deshaun Watson and other key players.

Tennessee got its first win at Houston since Jan. 1, 2012. The Titans, who will visit the Patriots next weekend, are in the postseason for the second time in three seasons and the first under coach Mike Vrabel, who played for New England for eight seasons.

Ryan Tannehill threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns for Tennessee and will make his playoff debut in his eighth NFL season. Rookie receiver A.J. Brown had 124 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Watson was active on Sunday, but coach Bill O’Brien started AJ McCarron instead. Watson was listed as questionable with a back injury this week but said he was OK. Receiver DeAndre Hopkins was also active, but did not play and several starters, including receiver Kenny Stills, left tackle Laremy Tunsil and nose tackle D.J. Reader, were inactive.

McCarron threw for 225 yards with an interception and ran for a touchdown. Houston was already locked into the AFC’s fourth seed and will host Buffalo next week.

Tennessee was up by seven at halftime and extended the lead when Henry scored on a 3-yard run with 10:06 left in the third quarter. Henry returned after sitting out last week with a hamstring injury.

Houston then used almost nine minutes on a 16-play drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by McCarron. He evaded the rush and dived into the end zone for the score that cut the lead to 21-14.

Tennessee made it 28-14 when Henry scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter.