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Nougat Davenport, ESPN
HOUSTON — After a thrilling Titans victory over the rival Texans on Sunday, Tennessee defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons ran back to the locker room yelling, “This is for Amy!”
He was referring to Amy Adams Strunk, majority owner of the team since 2015.
“I was excited,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said after the 32-27 win. “It’s okay to admit that these things sometimes mean more. I know it does for her and for us, and we wanted to make sure we had a great performance here.”
Simmons said Strunk had tears in his eyes as he gave a postgame speech proudly sporting a Houston Oilers belt buckle.
It was Strunk’s father, Bud Adams, who moved the Oilers to Tennessee in 1997 and changed the team’s name to the Titans in 1999.
The Titans and Texans have been intense rivals since 2002, when the Texans made their NFL debut as an expansion team.
“We know the story behind everything,” Simmons said. “How much this means to her is why we go out and give it our all. We talked about it last night and let this game mean a lot more game to the owner.”
Houston and Tennessee have combined to win five of the last six AFC South Division titles, with the Texans most recently taking the crown in 2023.
Entering Sunday, the Texans had also won three straight games against the Titans.
After the 2023 season, Strunk fired coach Mike Vrabel, who first worked for the Texans, and hired Callahan.
Callahan stressed the importance and history of the rivalry to his players this week, especially new ones like rookie cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr., who recorded his first career interception on Sunday. Callahan said the team had a very good week of practice and was proud to have something to show for it with the win over the Texans.
The Titans were 2-8 entering this week, while Houston was atop the AFC South at 7-4. ESPN’s Football Power Index gave Tennessee a 0.5% chance of making the playoffs before Sunday.
But that didn’t stop the Titans from achieving a big victory and maintaining their goal of making the playoffs.
“We’re focused on ourselves and we keep moving forward,” Brownlee said. “We got this win and we’re 1-1 in divisional play and we still have a chance. We’ll keep fighting and working, getting better every week.”
