Titans wrap season by beating AFC South champ Texans 24-17
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A concussion that sidelined quarterback Tom Savage could have the biggest impact coming out of the Houston Texans’ 24-17 loss at Tennessee on Sunday.
Savage started for the AFC South champions, left in the second quarter to be evaluated for a concussion and was cleared. He took a snap to kneel down on the final play of the first half and was diagnosed with a concussion after being re-evaluated at halftime.
That left Brock Osweiler, benched for Savage last month, running the offense. He threw for 253 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a 1-yard TD on fourth-and-goal in the fourth quarter.
Houston (9-7) will host an AFC wild-card game next weekend, possibly with uncertainty at quarterback.
DaQuan Jones recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the first quarter, and the Titans never trailed to finish with their first winning season since 2011.
The Titans (9-7) also ended a five-game skid to the two-time AFC South champs, who had beaten Tennessee eight of the previous nine games in this series. With their six-win improvement from going 3-13 in 2015, the Titans matched the biggest one-year turnaround in franchise history, previously set in 1967 and 1974.
Matt Cassel also threw for a touchdown in his first start this season in place of an injured Marcus Mariota, and Derrick Henry ran for a TD. Rishard Matthews caught nine passes for 114 yards, and Pro Bowl lineman Jurrell Casey had two of Tennessee’s four sacks.
The Texans had little at stake except sweeping the AFC South for the first time in franchise history. They deactivated six starters before kickoff and had just one starter in on defense by midway through the third quarter. Undrafted rookie Joel Heath had two of the Texans’ four sacks.
The Texans had one final chance to tie, getting the ball with 53 seconds left. Osweiler was sacked and threw incomplete on fourth down as Tennessee held on.
Tony Romo tosses TD pass, Cowboys lose 27-13 to Eagles
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tony Romo threw his first touchdown pass in nearly 14 months and the playoff-bound Dallas Cowboys played it safe in a 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
The Cowboys (13-3) locked up the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs when the Eagles (7-9) beat the Giants on Dec. 22. So Dak Prescott played only two series and Ezekiel Elliott watched from the sideline.
Carson Wentz tossed two TD passes to Zach Ertz to help Philadelphia finish with a two-game winning streak.
Prescott was 4 for 8 for 37 yards before giving way to Romo, who hadn’t played in a regular-season game since Thanksgiving 2015 when he broke his left collarbone for the second time in less than three months. Romo broke a bone in his back in the third preseason game against Seattle this season, paving the way for Prescott to have one of the best years by a rookie quarterback in NFL history.
Romo overthrew Terrance Williams on a deep pass on his first play. His first completion was a 16-yarder to Williams on third-and-12. After Dez Bryant drew a pass interference penalty on a deep pass at the Eagles 3, Romo connected with Williams for his first TD pass since Nov. 22, 2015 against Miami.
Romo finished 3 for 4 for 29 yards.
Mark Sanchez replaced Romo and threw two interceptions to Jordan Hicks in the second quarter. The Eagles took advantage of the second one at the Cowboys 49. Wentz tossed a 6-yard TD pass to Ertz to tie it at 10 going into halftime.
Wentz fired a 20-yard TD pass to Ertz in the third quarter to give Philadelphia a 17-13 lead. Wentz ran over to Ertz, grabbed the ball, jogged over to two-time AL MVP Mike Trout and handed it to him. Trout grew up in nearby Millville, New Jersey and has season tickets for the Eagles on the field behind one of the goal posts.
Terrell Watson ran in from the 1 for his first career TD to extend Philadelphia’s lead after a blocked punt late in the fourth quarter.