The Texans–Titans rivalry is a

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL)

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

between the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

and

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. The Texans–Titans rivalry is an intense rivalry, pitting the Tennessee Titans (formerly the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

) with Houston's present-day team, the Texans. The 2002

expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansi ...

and conference realignment by the NFL put a new team into Houston. With the expansion Texans in place, the NFL's realignment created the

AFC South The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season, 200 ...

and put the two teams together as division rivals. During the 2000s, the Titans dominated the rivalry before the Texans would gain the upperhand in the 2010s. The Titans lead the overall series, 24–22. The two teams have not met in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

Background

The

were initially established as a

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

-based franchise known as the "

," debuting in the first season of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

. Despite achieving playoff success and featuring Hall of Fame players, the Oilers were unable to reach the Super Bowl.

Bud Adams Kenneth Stanley "Bud" Adams Jr. (January 3, 1923 – October 21, 2013) was an American businessman who was the founder and owner of the Houston Oilers of the American Football League (AFL), of which he was also a co-founder. The franchise eve ...

, the team's owner, expressed dissatisfaction with the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...

, considering it outdated, and sought a new stadium. In 1995, following unsuccessful negotiations, he opted to relocate the Oilers to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, where they were rebranded as the Tennessee Titans. Houston was without an NFL team until the 2002 season when the league declared the return of football to the city with the establishment of the Houston Texans. Additionally, the NFL introduced realignments to its two conferences with each having North, South, East and West divisions. In the newly formed

, the NFL placed the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans,

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, and

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. Consequently, the Texans and Titans were scheduled to face each other twice annually: once in Houston and once in Nashville.

History

2010s

The bitterness of the rivalry has led to fistfights between the teams during games. One notable fight was on November 28, 2010, when Texans receiver

Andre Johnson Andre Lamont Johnson (born July 11, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Houston Texans. He played college football for the Mi ...

and Titans cornerback

Cortland Finnegan Cortland Temujin Finnegan (born February 2, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Samford Bulldogs, and was selected by the Tenne ...

exchanged blows after a play and were ejected. The Texans won that game 20–0. The rivalry became more competitive in 2011 as both teams were in the hunt for the division title most of the year. In Week 7, the Titans hosted the Texans in a match-up for the division lead and was the home field favorite while Houston was coming off of a 2-game losing streak. The Texans won 41–7 and went on to win the division that year. In Week 17, Houston hosted Tennessee; the Titans had to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Titans won on a botched two-point conversion try by the Texans, who were trying for the win. However, they were eliminated from postseason contention due to the Denver Broncos losing against the Kansas City Chiefs 7–3. If Tennessee had qualified to play in the

NFL playoffs The National Football League (NFL) playoffs is the annual single-elimination tournament held to determine the National Football League, league champion. The four-round tournament is held after the league's regular season. Since the 2020 NFL seaso ...

, they would have played the Texans in the AFC Wild-Card round. In 2018, the Texans won the AFC South at 11–5, and split with Tennessee. The Texans would play either the Titans or Colts in the upcoming Wild Card game, depending on the Sunday Night Football winner between the two. The Colts won 33–17, eliminating the Titans from the playoffs at 9–7 and setting up a wild-card match between the Texans and Colts. Had the Titans won, it would've been the first meeting in the playoffs between the two teams, similar to 2011. 2019 Tennessee Titans 2019 Week 15

In 2019, the Texans Week 15 road game against Titans marked the first time that both teams were 8–5 at the same time. The Texans beat the Titans 24–21, and in Week 16 the Texans won the AFC South after beating the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

23–20. In the final week of regular season, the Titans faced the Texans on the road. The Titans needed to win the game or a

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

loss against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

in order to make the playoffs. Behind a 211-yard, three-touchdown day from running back

Derrick Henry Derrick Lamar Henry Jr. (born January 4, 1994) is an American professional football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "King Henry", he is known for his imposing style of play and larger build t ...

and the Texans resting starters, the Titans won 35–14 to clinch the sixth seed in the playoffs.

2020s

The most competitive games in the history of the rivalry came in 2020. On October 18 the Texans traveled to

Nissan Stadium Nissan Stadium may refer to: * Nissan Stadium (Nashville) * Nissan Stadium (Yokohama) The , currently known as for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which opened in March 1998. It is ...

under interim coach

Romeo Crennel Romeo Ashbey Crennel (born June 18, 1947) is an American former football coach. A long-time coaching assistant to Bill Parcells, Crennel served as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2005 to 2008 and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2012, as we ...

, taking over for the fired Bill O'Brien. The Texans erased a 21–7 gap to lead 36–29, but the Titans stormed down and scored with seven seconds left. In overtime the Titans got first possession and advanced 82 yards on six plays ending in a direct snap touchdown run by

. In the second meeting of the 2020 season, Sam Sloman kicked a 37-yard field goal that bounced off the right upright and in to give Tennessee the 41–38 win. This was the highest-scoring game (79 points) in the history of the rivalry after the previous game set the record at 78 points.

Titans uniform controversy

For years, the Houston Texans had sought to regain the

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

of the former Houston Oilers name, logo, and uniforms. However, Titans owner Bud Adams and his daughter, current owner

Amy Adams Strunk Amy Adams Strunk (born September 29, 1955) is an American businesswoman best known as the controlling owner of the National Football League (NFL)'s Tennessee Titans. The daughter of the late owner Bud Adams, Strunk owns half of the Titans franc ...

, repeatedly blocked these requests. The issue escalated in 2022, when the Titans announced the team was planning to wear their former Houston/Tennessee Oilers throwback uniforms for select games in the 2023 season. Many Houston fans argued that the uniforms belonged to Houston, but the Titans were able to wear the uniforms as they still retained the Oilers' history and name, as Amy Adams Strunk told owners "Oilers history is Titans history". In October 2023, days before the Titans planned to wear the uniforms for the first time in their Week 8 game against the Atlanta Falcons, former Texans defensive end J. J. Watt expressed displeasure about the Titans' plans on the ''The Pat McAfee Show'', stating: "Having lived in Houston for 10 years and the people there and the connection that they have to

Earl Campbell Earl Christian Campbell (born March 29, 1955), nicknamed "the Tyler Rose", is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Houston Oilers. Known f ...

, to

Warren Moon Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is an American former professional Gridiron football, football player who was a quarterback for 23 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He spent most of h ...

, to these guys that wore those...when they played in that

...it hurts to not have been able to wear those in Houston and it hurts to see them being worn somewhere else." The Titans also wore the uniforms in their home games against the Texans for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, with the Texans winning both games. After making changes to their primary uniform set following the 2024 season, the Titans announced that they would no longer wear the Oilers throwback uniforms.

Connections between the teams

Season-by-season results

, - , , style=", , style=", Titans
13–3 , style=", Titans
17–10 , Titans
2–0 , Texans join the

(NFL) as an expansion team. During the NFL realignment, the Texans and Titans are placed in the newly created

in the

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

(AFC), resulting in two meetings annually.
Titans make their first visit back to

since departing in the 1996 season when they were known as the Houston Oilers. , - , , style=", , style=", Titans
27–24 , style=", Titans
38–17 , Titans
4–0 , In Tennessee, the Titans recorded their largest victory against the Texans with a 21–point differential. , - , , style=", , style=", Texans
31–21 , style=", Texans
20–10 , Titans
4–2 , , - , , style=", , style=", Titans
34–20 , style=", Titans
13–10 , Titans
6–2 , , - , , style=", , style=", Titans
26–20(OT) , style=", Titans
28–22 , Titans
8–2 , , - , , style=", , style=", Titans
38–36 , style=", Titans
28–20 , Titans
10–2 , In Houston, Titans' K

Rob Bironas James Robert Douglas Bironas (January 29, 1978 – September 20, 2014) was an American professional football placekicker who played the majority of his professional career with the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for Auburn Universit ...

successfully converted eight field goal attempts, setting an NFL record. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Texans
13–12 , style=", Titans
31–12 , Titans
11–3 , The Titans win 7 straight meetings (2005–2008), currently the longest win streak in the series for either team. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Titans
20–17 , style=", Texans
34–31 , Titans
12–4 , , - , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Texans
20–0 , style=", Titans
31–17 , Titans
13–5 , In Houston, Texans' WR

and Titans' CB

got into an altercation, which resulted in both getting ejected and fined. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Titans
23–22 , style=", Texans
41–7 , Titans
14–6 , , - , , style=", , style=", Texans
38–14 , style=", Texans
24–10 , Titans
14–8 , , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Texans
30–24(OT) , style=", Titans
16–10 , Titans
15–9 , Texans' win would be their last win in their 2013 season and only home win, as they went on a 14-game losing streak. , - , , style=", , style=", Texans
45–21 , style=", Texans
30–16 , Titans
15–11 , , - , , style=", , style=", Texans
20–6 , style=", Texans
34–6 , Titans
15–13 , , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Texans
27–20 , style=", Titans
24–17 , Titans
16–14 , Both teams finished with 9–7 records, but the Texans clinched the AFC South based on a better division record, eliminating the Titans from playoff contention. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Texans
57–14 , style=", Titans
24–13 , Titans
17–15 , In Houston, the Texans recorded their largest victory against the Titans with a 43–point differential and set a franchise record for their most points scored in a game. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Texans
34–17 , style=", Titans
20–17 , Titans
18–16 , In Houston, the Texans accumulated 281 rushing yards, setting a franchise record for their most rushing yards in a game. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Titans
35–14 , style=", Texans
24–21 , Titans
19–17 , In Houston, the Titans tied their largest victory against the Texans with a 21-point differential (

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

) and clinched the final playoff berth in the AFC with their win. , - , - , , style=", , style=", Titans
41–38 , style=", Titans
42–36(OT) , Titans
21–17 , In Tennessee, the Titans scored their most points in a game against the Texans and accumulated 607 total yards, setting a franchise record for their most yards in a game.
In Houston, Titans clinch the AFC South for the first time since the 2008 season with their win and achieve their first season series sweep against the Texans since the 2007 season. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Titans
28–25 , style=", Texans
22–13 , Titans
22–18 , The Titans clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs as the AFC's 1st seed with their win. , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Titans
17–10 , style=", Texans
19–14 , Titans
23–19 , , - , , style=", , style=", Texans
26–3 , style=", Texans
19–16(OT) , Titans
23–21 , , - , , Tie 1–1 , style=", Titans
32–27 , style=", Texans
23–14 , Titans
24–22 , Titans clinched the first overall pick in the

2025 NFL draft The 2025 NFL draft was the 90th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Lambeau Field and its adjacent Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24–26, 2025 ...

with their loss. , - , - , Regular season , style=", Titans 24–22 , Titans 12–11 , Titans 12–11 , , -

References

External links

Texans-Titans head-to-head record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Texans-Titans rivalry NFL rivalries Houston Oilers Tennessee Titans rivalries Houston Texans rivalries 2002 establishments in Tennessee