Tennessee Titans grades vs. Texans: Offensive line about as bad as you can get

HOUSTON — This Tennessee Titans team is about as good as its offensive line allows it to be.

The Titans lost 26-3 against the Houston Texans Sunday, falling to 5-11 with one game left in the 2023 season. The Texans sacked Titans quarterbacks six times and hit them six more, injuring starter Will Levis on a strip sack Houston was able to recover and return for a touchdown.

Some defensive shortcomings and special teams blunders deserve a bit of blame for the loss, too. But more than anything, it's the offensive line dragging this team down.

Here are The Tennessean's grades for Sunday's Titans game.

Offense: D-

There's nothing left to say about this offensive line. It's bad. The Titans need a left tackle as badly as any team in the NFL needs any position. By the end of the game, the were resigned to just throwing little flare routes to the sideline to keep the quarterback upright. And it ruined what was otherwise a solid offensive performance.

Defense: C

More of the same, as far as this season has gone. Defense looked good in the red zone. Wasn't all that solid on the rest of the field. A couple of impressive plays in the backfield. No turnovers. On the field way too much and couldn't hold forever. Could've done more, but the loss isn't the unit's fault.

Special teams: C-

Another week, another game-changing special teams blooper. This time it was rookie linebacker Caleb Murphy getting flagged for running into the punter after what should've been a three-and-out, allowing the Texans to turn around and drive 94 yards for a touchdown. Kicker Nick Folk's 53-yard field goal was impressive, bringing the grade up a bit.

Coaching: C-

It has been 16 games and the Titans still haven't figured out how to play around their offensive line issues. Some of that is because coaches are hamstrung by the players they have. But at a certain point, there has to be a better way.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans' offensive line woes reflected in grades vs. Texans