Will Levis threw a go-ahead 70-yard touchdown pass to Chig Okonkwo in the fourth quarter to help the Tennessee Titans record a stunning 32-27 victory over the host Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon.
Tony Pollard rushed for 119 yards and one touchdown and Nick Westbrook-Ihkine caught a scoring pass as Tennessee (3-8) won for just the second time in its last seven games.
Levis was 18-of-24 passing for 278 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Titans.
Houston had a chance to force overtime but Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a chip-shot 28-yard field goal with 1:53 remaining, sending the kick wide left.
The Texans got the ball back with 1:29 left. Three plays later, Harold Landry sacked Houston’s C.J. Stroud in the end zone to make it a five-point margin with 1:13 left.
Stroud completed 20 of 33 passes for 247 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Houston (7-5), which lost for the fourth time in the past six games.
Jimmie Ward returned an interception for a touchdown for the Texans. Nico Collins and Cade Stover caught scoring passes for Houston.
Houston sacked Levis eight times. Danielle Hunter had three and Will Anderson Jr. notched two.
Ward traveled 65 yards on his pick-6 to give the Texans a 24-23 lead with four seconds left in the third period.
The Texans moved ahead by four when Fairbairn kicked a 54-yard field goal with 9:46 remaining in the game. It was Fairbairn’s 12th field goal of 50 or more yards this season, surpassing the NFL record of Daniel Carlson (11 in 2022 for the Las Vegas Raiders).
But on Houston’s next offensive play, Okonkwo caught a pass from Levis near his own 40-yard line and raced up the middle and sped past multiple Texans to turn it into a 70-yard scoring play to give Tennessee a 30-27 lead.
The game began great for Houston as Dameon Pierce returned the opening kickoff 80 yards and Stroud followed with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Stover.
The Titans recovered with the next 17 points. Nick Folk kicked a 51-yard field goal and Levis threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Westbrook-Ikhine in the first quarter. Pollard scored on a 10-yard run to boost the Titans’ lead to 17-7 with 11:03 left in the first half.
Stroud tossed a 5-yard scoring pass to Collins with 6:17 left in the quarter and Fairbairn tacked on a 28-yard field goal to knot the score at 17 with 1:47 remaining.
Folk booted a 56-yard field as time ran out to give Tennessee a 20-17 halftime lead.
Folk connected from 51 yards as the Titans led by six with 9:08 remaining in the third period.
–Field Level Media
