In his return to the starting lineup, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick threw 6 TD passes as the Texans rolled to a 45-21 win over the Titans at NRG Stadium. It could not have been scripted better for the Texans, who got off to a 24-0 lead at halftime & never relinquished the lead. The win puts the Texans at 6-6 & 2-1 within the AFC South, with 2 divisional opponents (Jacksonville, Indianapolis) their next 2 games on the schedule.
As happens every week, here are the 6 takeaways from the Texans’ game known as the Pick 6 …
Fitzpatrick gets back on the horse & leads the team to victory
The last few weeks have been tumultuous for Texans QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, having been benched for Ryan Mallett only to return to the starting job with Mallett’s season ending injury. Whatever he did to get ready for his former team, it 
worked.
For one game at least, Fitzpatrick was unrivaled, going 24 for 33 for 358 yards & a club record 6 TDs. It was almost a Madden-esque video game offensive display, as he finished with a 147.5 QB rating. It does not mean the 32-year-old Fitzpatrick is the long-term answer at QB, but it gives the Texans optimism with him at the helm for the final 4 games of the season.
DeAndre Hopkins takes off with a career day
Andre Johnson is the undisputed best wide receiver in Texans history, but he may be passing the #1 receiver baton to DeAndre Hopkins with what the 2nd year wide receiver out 
of Clemson is doing. Hopkins had 9 catches for 238 yards & 2 TDs, already eclipsing the 1000 yard mark for the season with 1,041 yards.
Andre also had a TD, but on this Sunday it was the “Nuk” Hopkins show . His acrobatic grabs, including a beautiful 58 yard TD catch from Fitzpatrick with 38 seconds left in the 2nd quarter, illustrate why the Texans have made him a prime target on offense.
Texans win the turnover battle yet again
The Texans have a very good takeaway to giveaway ratio this year under defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, and 
it improved again by getting 4 turnovers vs. the Titans. Johnathan Joseph, Jumal Rolle, and A.J. Bouye all picked off passes, and J.J. Watt had a fumble recovery.
The Texans now have 28 takeaways for the season, a reversal from 2013 & a big reason they have a .500 record with their inconsistent offensive play for most of the year.
The offensive playback opens up
For a Texans team whose offense has been more predictable than Scandinavian weather in January, the Texans loosened up the reins on Sunday & it was good to see. The Texans took shots down the field vs. the Titans, and were more aggressive 
with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm than in his previous stint as a starter.
The offensive line did give Fitzpatrick time to throw & Arian Foster contributed 79 rushing yards in his return from injury, but the main thing is that the Texans were able to mix it up more & had very good results with 457 yards of total offense, including going 11 of 17 on 3rd down.
J.J. Watt continues to be in the mix for NFL MVP
It goes without saying that J.J. Watt is an incredible player & the heart & soul of the Texans defense, but each week he does something spectacular that vaults him into the MVP talk reserved for offensive stars like Peyton Manning & Tom 
Brady.
In the 2nd half, J.J. forced a fumble on Titans backup QB Jake Locker & then was athletic enough to recover the ball. A few plays later, he was catching a TD pass as a tight end on offense for his 5th TD of the season, a well-deserved reward for his efforts. Watt had three tackles & 2 sacks on the day, in addition to wreaking havoc on the Titans QBs with his non-stop motor.
Take a deep breath & enjoy the win, but put it in perspective
Credit the Texans for playing a complete game on both sides of the ball & earning a victory, but this was a game against a Titans team that with this loss stands at 2-10.
The NFL is tough week-in & week-out & it has been proven that in this league of parity anyone can lose on a given week (see the Kansas City Chiefs losing to the winless Oakland Raiders in Week 12), but the Texans won a game they should have won against a bad team.
What the Texans hope this win does is put them on a roll as they head into their next 2 road games vs. Jacksonville & Indianapolis. If the Texans can beat Jacksonville (another 2 win team) & pull to 7-6, it sets up a showdown with Indianapolis to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.
-R.G. Seal
