NASHVILLE – The Titans face the Texans on Sunday at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Here are six things to watch during the match:

Will Levis returned to the lineup in Week 10 and has looked like a different quarterback over the last two weeks. Levis has averaged 235.0 yards per game since his return, with a 103.2 rating, a 3-to-1 Pass TD-to-INT ratio and an 8.7 yards per attempt average. In his first five starts, Levis threw for 139.8 yards per game with a 70.7 rating, a 5-to-7 Pass TD-to-INT ratio, with an average of 5.6 yards per attempt. Levis had a season-high 295 passing yards last week. Can Levis keep the positive momentum against the Texans?

The defense still needs to improve

While Levis has heated up lately, Texans quarterback CJ Stroud has cooled down. Since Week 7, only Caleb Williams (72.2) and Cooper Rush (72.2) have a worse passer rating than Stroud (73.9) among QBs with more than 100 pass attempts. The Titans, who rank No. 1 in the NFL in pass yards allowed (164.6), need to pressure Stroud up the middle and on the edge. However, slowing down Stroud and the Texans receivers is only half the battle. Texans running back Joe Mixon has 764 yards and 10 rushing TDs in just eight games this season. The Titans need to be better in the red zone to limit scoring. Would you believe the Titans are the only team in the NFL to award points (FG or TD) on every opponent red zone drive in 2024? But there is plenty of room for improvement in defense. While the Titans are in second place^i.e in total the defense in total defense (yards) is 26^e in scoring, allowing 26.3 points per game. The Titans are ranked 26th^e in the NFL in sacks (20), and they have only seven points (tie: 2^i.e least). The Titans need to step it up even further on D.

Titans running back Tony Pollard has slowed down after a hot start. Pollard gained just 15 yards on nine carries against the Vikings last week, and it was his second straight week with fewer than 10 carries and 50 rushing yards. The Titans need to get the game going again to take the pressure off Levis and the offensive line. Pollard leads the Titans with 160 carries for 681 yards and three touchdowns. With Tyjae Spears still in the concussion protocol, it appears that Pollard will once again have to shoulder the majority of the load.

Can the Titans protect the QB?

Levis has been sacked 27 times this season while playing behind an offensive line where things are very difficult on the right side. Nicholas Petit-Frere is expected to be back in the saddle at right tackle, and he should be better. Levis was sacked five times against the Vikings last week, and he was picked on too often in his seven starts. The Texans rank third in the NFL in total defense, and they rank in the top 10 in sacks per opponent pass attempt. Defensive lineman Denico Autry, formerly with the Titans, will be among the Texans coming after Levis.

Titans receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has scored five touchdowns over the past six weeks. Since Week 6, when Westbrook-Ikhine recorded his first touchdown reception of the year against the Colts, he is tied with Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews for the third-most touchdown receptions in the NFL. Only Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase (seven) and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown (seven) have more than Westbrook-Ikhine in that span. The Titans would like to see NWI find the end zone again, but there has been another positive development: Calvin Ridley has 24 catches for 368 yards since Week 8, which is fifth-most in the NFL.

This category, like the Titans season, is currently on life support. The Titans are 2-8 and their playoff hopes are barely flickering. They are 7 ½ point underdogs against the Texans on Sunday. Since 1990, teams that started Nos. 2 through 8 have never made the playoffs. The 97 teams that started 3-8 never made the playoffs either. The Titans will have to start winning more games to have any chance of postseason play, but with five AFC South games over the next seven weeks, that hasn’t stopped players from at least talking about it this week. While the Titans haven’t been eliminated from the playoffs yet, the focus should be on finding a way to win a game.