Titans lose to Houston; Haynesworth injured

As Mike Keith stated as the game drew to a close, the difference between the Titans this year and last (when, remember, they were a playoff team) is that the '07 Titans kicked field goals and the '08 Titans score touchdowns. Untimely turnovers and the inability to do that today cost them in a 13-12 loss to Houston, which will now set up a home field showdown next week with Pittsburgh regardless of what the Steelers do with the Ravens today.

Playing without Kyle Vanden Bosch and struggling to slow Steve Slaton, who became only the second back this season to go for 100+ yards against Tennessee, the Titans took a potentially even bigger blow when Al Haynesworth was injured on the next to last significant play of the game - Slaton picked up a game-clinching first down on the next play.

I didn't see it because the good folks at CBS think people in southwest Virginia just love to watch the Jets and the Bills (...which was a good game), but Frank Wycheck broke a cardinal rule of announcing by speculating that Haynesworth has an MCL injury that will sideline him 4-6 weeks. So I'm breaking the cardinal rule of blogging by passing that assumption onto you.

The Steelers should be in a dogfight for sixty minutes in Baltimore this afternoon, so I'm unsure what they'll have for the Titans in Nashvegas next Sunday. But if Haynesworth is out for an extended period of time, Tennessee's chances of extending their January football just took a huge, huge blow.

With or without the loss and Haynesworth, the game with the Steelers will be the biggest game at LP Field since Steve McNair and Eddie George wore baby blue. Hopefully, the Titans will be playing it at full strength...stay tuned.