The Houston Texans were a heavy favorite against the Tennessee Titans, but the underdogs took a much-needed stride Sunday. They saw signs of life from Chris Johnson.
CJ2K ran for 141 yards on 25 carries to reach the 100-yard plateau for the first time since last December.
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"Yeah, it was a pretty good game, running the ball or whatever," Johnson told The Tennessean after the Titans' lop-sided 38-14 loss. "I feel like my offensive line went out there and did a great job from the first snap. Just getting up on guys, pushing those guys back, recreating the line of scrimmage and just giving me somewhere to run.
"Like I've been saying all year, I'm going to be as good as my offensive line."
Johnson openly has blamed his line this year, and the Titans' linemen deserve much of it. But Johnson has been hesitant with the ball. He had 33 carries for 45 yards in the first three weeks.
Regardless, both improved Sunday. Johnson is the Titans' best offensive weapon. They need him to thrive after being outscored 110-37 in three September losses.
"No matter what's going on, no matter what the situation, I want to go out there every game and be the best player I can be," Johnson said. "It's a situation that we know we have a good offense, and we just have to execute the plays and things like that.
"I think today helped us to take a step. I wouldn't just say we ultimately solved the problem, but I feel like we took a good step and hopefully we continue to get better."
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
