The Houston Texans faced the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon in a game that saw two 0-4 teams hoping to earn their first win.

On that note, head coach DeMeco Ryans and the Texans were able to come out on top and get into the win column for the first time this season with a dominant 26-3 victory. So, let's take a look at how this game unfolded and what allowed Houston to pick up the win.

Starting with the 1st quarter, the Titans were able to get on the board first as quarterback Cam Ward led his offense down the field with the drive ending in a 30-yard field goal by kicker Joey Slye to put Tennessee up 3-0.

On the Texans' first drive, quarterback C.J. Stroud and the offense were unable to move the ball, so they were forced to punt. That was followed by a punt from Tennessee, and after that, Stroud marched the offense down the field, and then the Texans tied the game at 3-3 as kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn nailed a 45-yard field goal.

Then, when the Titans tried to respond, running back Tyjae Spears fumbled, which was forced by Texans defensive lineman Dominique Robinson, and then the fumble was recovered by Houston safety Jalen Pitre.

Following the fumble recovery, Stroud and the offense were unable to do a whole lot with it, but based on the field position, they were able to capitalize with a 35-yard field goal from Fairbairn to take the lead 6-3.

The Titans tried to respond, but instead Ward was intercepted by Texans' linebacker Jake Hansen, which once again set Houston up with solid field position. Even with the good field position, the Texans were unable to get into the end zone as the drive stalled close to the red zone, but Houston was able to extend the lead to 9-3 as Fairbairn hit a 26-yard field goal.

On the next offensive drive for the Titans, they were forced to punt, then Houston drove down and they were able to add even more cushion to the lead as Fairbairn hit a 53-yard field goal to put the Texans up 12-3.

After that, Tennessee was unable to move the ball once again, so they had to punt, and then Stroud kneeled the ball down and sent Houston into halftime with a 12-3 lead.

Out of halftime, the Texans started with the ball and marched down the field on a very long drive as they possessed the ball for 8:23 and to end the drive, Stroud was able to run the ball into the end zone from two yards out to extend the Houston lead to 19-3.

Then the Titans got the ball, but once again Ward and the offense were shut down so Tennessee was forced to punt the ball back to the Texans.

Following the punt, the Texans took possession near the end of the third quarter and the drive went into the fourth quarter with Houston being able to march the ball well and to finish off the drive, Stroud threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jaylin Noel to make the advantage even bigger for the Texans with the lead now at 26-3.

After the Texans' touchdown drive, the Titans needed a response and had a decent drive, but on 4th and 8, Ward was sacked by Houston edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., which resulted in a turnover on downs and gave the ball back to the Texans.

On that next drive, the Texans did not do much as they were forced to punt and then Houston forced Tennessee to turn the ball over on downs once again as Ward was sacked on 4th and 19 by Anderson, meaning that Anderson ended the final two Titans offensive drives.

Then, after getting the ball back, Stroud kneeled the ball down which ended the game and gave Houston their first win to advance the Texans to 1-4, and that dropped the Titans to 0-5. 

Heading into Sunday, Ryans and the Texans really needed a victory, and they were able to do just that as the offense, defense, and special teams performed well.

On the offensive side, Stroud completed 26 of his 34 passes, threw one touchdown, and threw zero interceptions, in addition to one rushing touchdown. It is also important to note that wide receiver Nico Collins made his presence felt once again, as he had five receptions for 56 yards and, as mentioned, Noel had the touchdown reception, so it was a solid day for the Texans' wide receiver core.

When it comes to the rushing attack, Houston could be a bit more efficient, as they ran the ball 27 times for 79 yards and averaged 2.9 yards per carry. Nonetheless, the Texans got the win, and the offense got the job done.

Looking at the defense, the Texans shut down the Titans throughout the entire game as Houston allowed just three points, forced two turnovers, sacked Ward four times and hit him a total of seven times. The Texans defense needed a response and this performance showed the resiliency of this group.

Finally, looking at the special teams side, Fairbairn was solid like always as he went 4/4 on field goals and 2/2 on extra points providing great consistency and in all other apects Houston played well and did not allow Tennessee to capture momentum which was huge in this win.

Overall, the Texans played well in each phase and now head into Week 6 hoping to build on this performance as they are 1-4 and are hoping to climb back into the race for the AFC South and into playoff contention with a lot of the season still left to go.