Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans: Our scouting report, score prediction

The Tennessee Titans are hoping to spend the night before Christmas putting an end to their losing streak.

The Titans (7-7) host the Houston Texans (1-12-1) from Nissan Stadium on Saturday (noon, CBS). Something has to give for these two teams; the Texans' nine-game losing streak is the NFL's longest and the Titans' four-game losing streak is tied for the third-longest in football.

Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill will not play after suffering an ankle injury in last week's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, setting rookie Malik Willis up to make his third career start, and second against the Texans. But the Texans defense would be served well to pay attention to Titans running back Derrick Henry, who has rushed for at least 200 yards in his last four games against them.

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Here is The Tennessean's scouting report and score prediction for Saturday's game.

Titans offense vs. Texans defense

The Texans' defense allows 167.5 rushing yards per game, the most in the NFL. Among AFC teams, only the Chargers and Cleveland Browns allow more yards per carry than the Texans. If ever there were an opportunity for Henry to single-handedly end the Titans' losing streak, this might be it.

And he might actually have to do that, given the injuries on the Titans' offensive line. Starting center Ben Jones and sixth-man Dillon Radunz went on IR this week, and starting guard Nate Davis is out. The remaining three Titans starting linemen have all featured on the injury report this week and been limited in practice. Combine those injuries with Tannehill's absence and the Titans offense could be more Henry reliant than normal, and that's a high standard.

These injuries are going to be hard to overcome for a Titans offense that's struggled even at full health in recent weeks. But the Texans have the NFL's worst points differential for a reason, so there's still a path toward Henry having a big day.

Titans defense vs. Texans offense

The Texans have the NFL's second-worst passing offense by yards per play. Temperatures are supposed to be well below freezing, with winds blowing between 10 and 15 mph. For the aching Titans pass defense that allows more passing yards per game than any other team in the NFL, these are exactly the conditions they want to see.

Texans quarterbacks have thrown the most interceptions in the league, and Houston's offense averages the NFL's third-fewest first downs per game. Even in recent close games against the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs, two Super Bowl contenders, the Texans averaged just 4.5 yards per play.

For all the Titans' issues in pass coverage, the defense still ranks No. 1 in the NFL in third-down conversion rate and No. 2 in rushing yards allowed per game and per carry. If the weather makes it hard for an already-struggling Texans passing offense to get going, the Titans' defense has a huge advantage.

Score prediction:

Titans 14, Texans 10: Expect another low-scoring matchup between these two teams. Just like last time, the Titans squeak one out without much of a passing attack, but the Texans' offense doesn't have what it takes to break through against the Titans' defense.

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

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans: Score prediction, Week 16 preview