Fitzpatrick, who regained the starting job when Ryan Mallett was injured last week, went 24-of-33 for 358 yards without throwing an interception or taking a sack. DeAndre Hopkins was on the receiving end of nine of those passes totaling 238 yards and two TDs for the Texans (6-6).
Kendall Wright caught seven passes for 132 yards and a touchdown while Nate Washington added a touchdown reception for the Titans (2-10), who have lost six straight. Jake Locker threw a TD pass and two interceptions after relieving rookie Zach Mettenberger, who was 13-of-19 for 184 yards with a scoring toss and a pick before leaving with an injured right shoulder in the third quarter.
The Texans poured it on early, with Fitzpatrick throwing an 8-yard TD pass to Ryan Griffin and 7-yarder to Arian Foster before hitting Hopkins for a 58-yard scoring strike en route to a 24-0 halftime lead. The Titans threatened to make a game of it when Mettenberger hooked up with Wright for a 36-yard score to open the third quarter and Jason McCourty stripped the ball from Andre Johnson and raced 62 yards for a TD with 8:07 left in the period to cut the deficit to 24-14.
Houston responded as Hopkins got free for a 34-yard TD reception to cap an 80-yard drive and Fitzpatrick found Johnson for a 4-yard touchdown early in the fourth to make it 38-14. Watt sacked and stripped Locker before recovering the fumble, then found himself on the receiving end of a 1-yard TD pass two plays later to cap Houston's scoring before Locker hit Washington for a 25-yard TD after the outcome was decided.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Fitzpatrick is the eighth player in NFL history to throw four TD passes in a game for three different franchises. … Wright joined Ernest Givins as the only players in franchise history with 50 receptions in each of their first three seasons. … The Texans recorded four takeaways, running their NFL-best total to 28.
Tennessee | Houston | |
Bishop Sankey | Player | Arian Foster |
10 | Attempts | 19 |
42 | Yards | 79 |
4.2 | Avg Yards | 4.2 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
12 | Long | 18 |
Tennessee | Houston | |
Kendall Wright | Player | DeAndre Hopkins |
7 | Receptions | 9 |
132 | Yards | 238 |
18.9 | Avg Yards | 26.4 |
1 | Touchdowns | 2 |
36 | Long | 58 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
Tennessee | 320 | 83 | 237 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 |
Houston | 457 | 99 | 358 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 1 |