It may be the case that this is actually the healthiest Houston has been all season
Over the last three weeks, the Houston Texans have gotten their season back on track, getting both to and above .500 for the first time all year thanks to three consecutive wins. As if winning three straight games in the NFL isn't difficult enough, the Texans have had to do so without both starting quarterback CJ Stroud and safety Jalen Pitre.
CJ Stroud and Jalen Pitre had both been sideline after suffering concussions in a last-second loss to the Denver Broncos back in Week 9. Fortunately, as the Texans enter the stretch run of the season, they'll be doing so with both Stroud and Pitre back in the lineup today against the Indianapolis Colts. In fact, you could make the case that this is actually the healthiest that Houston has been all season long. For the record, here are the Texans inactives ahead of today's game.
Braxton Berrios
Graham Mertz
Jamal Hill
Jarrett Kingston
Laken Tomlinson
And while the inactives for the Indianapolis Colts don't necessarily deliver any surprises, the Colts offense is dealing with two pretty noteworthy injuries/illnesses. 'What's the deal with Daniel Jones' fibula?' has been asked more times over the last three days than 'What's your favorite Thanksgiving pie?' Jones is suiting up for Indianapolis, but he's not going to be 100% and with the Texans pass rush operating at peak level this season, Indiana Jones could be in for a long afternoon.
A surprise addition to this conversation has been Tyler Warren, the Colts' spectacular rookie tight end who popped up on the injury report on Saturday and was considered questionable coming into Sunday morning due to flu-like symptoms. Sounds to me like someone ate too many leftover turkey sandwiches on Friday. Indianapolis' Sunday morning injury report did confirm though that Warren will give it a go against the Texans.
If the Colts win on Sunday, they'll move one step closer to clinching an AFC South title for the first time since 2014. If Houston goes into Indy and upsets the Colts, the Texans will be just one game back in the division standings with a meeting with the Colts in H-Town coming up in the final week of the season.
C.J. Stroud’s return changes Houston’s offensive ceiling
C.J. Stroud returns after missing three games with a concussion, restoring Houston’s vertical range. The Texans won all three with Davis Mills, but the offense leaned on short throws and heavy run volume. Stroud’s 8.3 air yards per attempt and 98.0 passer rating when kept clean make him central to Houston’s balance.
The Texans average 27.5 points when Stroud is sacked two or fewer times. His offensive line, now settled with Aireontae Ersery, Tytus Howard, Jake Andrews, Ed Ingram, and Trent Brown, faces a Colts defense ranked top ten in pressure rate. If the line holds, Houston’s deep attack to Nico Collins and Tank Dell can stretch Indianapolis vertically.
Tennessee Titans Predicted to Land College Football’s Biggest Head Coach
Less than two seasons ago now, the Tennessee Titans fired longtime head coach Mike Vrabel and subsequently hired Brian Callahan to take his place. Having been the maestro for a Cincinnati Bengals offense that saw them become Super Bowl runner-ups just two years prior to his arrival in Tennessee, Callahan was initially seen as a positive pick and scoring-forward option that could potentially restore the Titans' previously productive offense.
Of course, that dream didn't last long. After going 4-19 through his next - and only - 23 games at the position, Callahan was promptly relieved of his duties at a relatively early stage in the current 2025-26 season. The resulting state of the Titans' franchise is one in wait; the wait, thus far, has been defined by constant losing, recurring injuries and an almost completely directionless search for Callahan's own replacement. It's been a brutal stretch for Titans fans, to say the least.
A Long Shot?
On the collegiate football level, the head-coaching scene has seen a recent shakeup of its own, causing the disruption of one major personality potentially hitting the market: Lane Kiffin, of the Ole Miss Rebels.
After being the essential lone cause for the Rebels' gradual rise into national relevancy - the team is currently 11-1, ranked No. 7 - Kiffin's rumored desire for a greater opportunity, under brighter lights, has grown to a head this season, with the coach himself providing confusing comments on more than one occasion in response to the noise.
The most recent of which is the announcement that Kiffin will hold a meeting with his team early this coming week, pending an announcement regarding his ultimate fate, which will follow thereafter.
As the college year comes to a close, On3 Sports' Brett McMurphy compiled the opinions of CFB personalities across the board as to where Kiffin will eventually land. Below are three dominant opinions that lie and one of certain high intrigue to the Titans' fanbase, with Tennessee itself being the lone NFL representative on the list.
Against (Almost) All Odds
Tom Fornelli, of CBS Sports, made a disputed call for the Titans to be the team that ultimately brings Kiffin come, luring him away from the collegiate level and giving him the keys to a football franchise on the highest level.
Whether or not this would be a good hire for Tennessee is arguable, but the attention, coverage and inevitable controversy that would come with Kiffin at least guarantees something more moving than what Callahan brought to the table previously.
