The Titans are getting creative without Marcus Mariota

Poor special teams play led to a touchdown for the Titans, and that proved to be the difference.

With Blaine Gabbert starting for the injured Marcus Mariota, the Titans had to get creative with the way they get points on the board.

After Gabbert failed to connect with Tajae Sharp on third-and-6 on their first possession of the game, Tennessee was able to get on the board with a fake punt for a touchdown.

It was another special teams snafu for the Texans

For some reason, the Texans opted not to cover the gunner that ended up catching the pass. They didn’t cover the gunner on the other side of the field either. If the Titans ran a normal punt, Houston’s punt returner would’ve gotten destroyed or called a fair catch with extremely poor field position. Kevin Byard, a former high school quarterback, threw a great pass that fifth-round rookie Dane Cruikshank was able to take in for the score.

The Texans struggled on special teams a year ago (ranked 26th in special teams DVOA), and it doesn’t look like those problems are going to be corrected any time soon.

Even though they replaced Brad Seely with Larry Izzo has special teams coordinator, the Texans’ are still looking poor on special teams. After the fake punt debacle, they missed a field goal on their next drive.

The Titans needed to get creative without Mariota

It was great for the Titans get on the board with their special teams, but this likely isn’t a sustainable strategy for them if Mariota is out for longer with his elbow injury.

They needed Gabbert and Co. to step up and make some plays in this game — which they did on the next drive with a Gabbert screen pass for a touchdown to Taywan Taylor. That drive started with five direct snaps to running back Derrick Henry, including an 8-yard pass to Taylor.

That was their only offensive touchdown of the game, but thanks to their trick play — and playing better special teams than the Texans — that was all they needed. The Titans won, 20-17.