The Tennessee Titans head south on Sunday to face the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, at 12:00 p.m. CDT.

Both of these teams are winless, and both of these teams have offensive lines that are a problem. C.J. Stroud has been sacked eight times, Cam Ward has been sacked 15 times. It’s not good for either quarterback. The defenses on both teams leave a lot to be desired, too.

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Ahead of the 67th meeting between the Titans and the Texans, we sat down with our friends at Texans Wire in this week’s edition of Behind Enemy Lines.

What is the biggest issue plaguing the Texans’ offensive line? How is it hindering CJ Stroud’s development?

Honestly, the offensive line has been dreadful in allowing pressures, but the sack total has been low. Stroud is being pressured on 41 percent of dropbacks, but the line has only allowed eight sacks. The bigger issue for now is actually fixated on the lack of consistency in the passing game because of personnel. No one seems to be winning their battles in man coverage, which has led to Stroud waiting too long for a play to open downfield, thus leading to the pressure rate spiking. Stroud isn’t comfortable waiting for receivers to get open, thus leading to pressures. The inability to create any identity in the run has also limited Houston’s offense to being basically one-dimensional.

Derek Stingley Jr. was injured playing against the Jaguars last week. What is his current status? How much would his loss impact the Texans’ secondary?

So he’s going to be a game-time decision. He didn’t practice all week, and the Texans called up both D’Angelo Ross and Myles Bryant from the practice squad to shore up the secondary. Last season, Houston only had one player not practice throughout the week, and that was Dalton Schultz, and it only happened once.

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The bigger question with the Texans’ secondary now revolves around the release of C.J. Gardner-Johnson. M.J. Stewart is expected to start, but he’s only played about 30 defensive snaps since 2022, when he joined the squad. It’s going to be chaos on Sunday in the secondary with no real answer until probably halftime.

Who is one player on both sides of the ball that Titans fans should know?

Offensively, let’s go with Christian Kirk. He missed the first two games with a hamstring injury, and the Texans brought him in to be a legit No. 2 weapon opposite Nico Collins. In Week 3, he did little outside of two first-down hauls, but Stroud targeted him five times, so hopefully he’s trending upward.

Defensively, Azeez Al-Shaair should be in lock step with Cam Ward. Wherever he goes, the veteran linebacker should follow. He’s currently leading the team in stop and should be a spy-type in coverage against the mobile quarterback.

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The Texans have been unable to do much of anything on offense. Why is that, and will this week be different?

It’s a great question that honestly no one can answer at the moment. Is it as simple as bad play from the offensive line? The careless penalties? The lack of a No. 2 weapon? All are great, but truly unknown answers right now. If there’s a reason to buy into this week, however, it would have to be the pass rush. Tennessee only having two sacks — and one coming from a safety — says plenty about the limited pass rush coming in from Nashville. Just given that Stroud should have more time to throw is enough to believe that the Texans will either fix their woes or have the league’s worst offense this season by a wide margin.

Who wins and why?

Even with a horrendous offensive start to the season, Houston’s defense has bailed it out enough to keep the Texans in every game. Also, Houston lost in the closing minutes to Los Angeles and Tampa, two teams many expect to be in the playoffs again this season. A new play-caller is taking over for the Titans, so adding another layer of pressure on Cam Ward certainly isn’t promising. Houston finally ends its losing streak, while Tennessee might be hitting reset at head coach once more.

Texans 20, Titans 14

This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans: Behind Enemy Lines