Texans' loss to Titans goes from bad to worse with injury update

Jalen Pitre will not be available for the coming weeks.

It did not appear that anything could get any worse for the Houston Texans after their embarrassing loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 12, but that all changed on Monday. Safety Jalen Pitre, who left the game in the second quarter with an injury, was diagnosed with a pectoral tear after the game and is out indefinitely.

At the bare minimum, Pitre will be out for the next handful of games but might have his absence extended if surgery is deemed necessary, per Tom Pelissero. The 25-year-old will avoid an immediate injured reserve designation and could still return in 2024 but with just five games remaining, his window to do so is fairly thin.

Before leaving the game, Pitre recorded just one tackle in the 32-27 loss. He entered the matchup on the heels of a season-best effort in Week 11, in which he posted nine tackles and one forced fumble. Once he left the game, veterans Eric Murray and M.J. Stewart were the only players remaining to fill his void.

Since entering the league as a safety in 2022, Pitre has shifted down from his traditional position to playing primarily in the slot. His slight positional change allowed rookie Calen Bullock to earn more snaps in the secondary next to veteran Jimmie Ward.

Texans drop to 7-6 with loss to Titans

With their upset loss to the Titans, the Texans have now lost three of their last four games to drop to 7-6. Their lone win in the last four weeks came over the Dak Prescott-less Dallas Cowboys.

Pitre's injury will only further hurt the Texans' secondary, which is already in the bottom half of the league in passing yards allowed. Through 13 games, Pitre was PFF's highest-graded member of Houston's secondary, above standout cornerbacks Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter.

The Texans have one game remaining before their bye week as they face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14. The Jaguars appear on track to have quarterback Trevor Lawrence back from injury but have struggled regardless and will bring a 2-9 record into the game.

If Lawrence misses another game, the Texans will get a significantly softer matchup against Mac Jones, who has thrown for just 249 total yards over the past two games. The contest will be the second meeting of the season between the two AFC South foes with Houston taking the first game 24-20.