Houston @ Tennessee preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 1, 2015 ) Tennessee 6, Houston 20

One of the big storylines of the NFL season has been quarterback injuries, from Tony Romo, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger down to T.J. Yates and Brian Hoyer. Yates and Hoyer were in the process of leading the Houston Texans to the playoffs when they went down, and Brandon Weeden could be next in line to lead the charge when they visit the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Hoyer sat out last week with a concussion and is going through the protocol but has not yet been cleared to play, and Yates tore his ACL while starting in Hoyer’s place in a win over Indianapolis that catapulted the team into first place in the AFC South last week. Weeden, who already squandered an opportunity to lead Dallas to the playoffs this season, stepped up in Yates’ absence and threw the go-ahead touchdown pass last week. The Titans drafted their quarterback of the future in May when Marcus Mariota was the second pick of the NFL draft, but the talented Oregon product could miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in a loss to New England last week. "The frustration of not being able to be out there with the guys bothers me more than the knee,” Mariota told reporters.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: off. O/U: off

ABOUT THE TEXANS (7-7): Houston will clinch the AFC South with a win and a loss by the Colts against Miami. “We’ve just got to take care of business,” linebacker Brian Cushing told reporters. “That’s all it comes down to, and we know we’re really in the driver’s seat of our destiny. We’ve got to take care of what we can do and we’ve just got to win.” Hoyer returned to practice Wednesday on a limited basis, but Weeden still is planning on starting Sunday, with the recently signed B.J. Daniels around in case of emergency.

ABOUT THE TITANS (3-11): Tennessee will proceed cautiously with Mariota, who already has been ruled out for this week but not the remainder of the season. “If I feel great, I look forward to playing in the last game,’’ Mariota told reporters. “We’ll take this week and get healthy as much as I can and see what it feels like on Monday and go through the evaluation process. And if I feel ready to go and I can do it, I will definitely be out there on the field.” Zach Mettenberger, who was sacked seven times and intercepted once while starting in place of Mariota in a 20-6 loss at Houston in Week 8, will get the nod again on Sunday.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins needs 85 yards to become the second player in franchise history to reach 1,400 in a season (Andre Johnson).

2. Tennessee's Delanie Walker is 65 yards shy of becoming the first TE in team history with 1,000 receiving yards.

3. Houston has taken six of seven in the series, including three straight under coach Bill O’Brien.

PREDICTION: Texans 24, Titans 13