Texans Deserve 'Respect' Says Titans Malik Willis; Should Houston Return Praise?

An argument can be made that Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Malik Willis has yet to earn real respect from around the league. The Houston Texans will be hoping they're not the first team to be on the wrong end of a potential breakout performance from him on Christmas Eve.

Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Malik Willis has been thrown into the fire at times this season. He'll now have to potentially lead his team on the playoff push after it was announced that starting veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill is out with an ankle injury.

Willis has had to go toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes, jump into action against the league-leading Philadelphia Eagles and been forced to pick up the pieces in an embarrassing blowout to the AFC-leading Buffalo Bills. His first-career start came against the Houston Texans in Week 8 and hardly qualified as being a fire-filled game, as Wills completed just six passes in a 17-10 win.

And as he and the Titans get set to host the Texans for a Christmas Eve meeting on Saturday, it's a matchup that seemingly could be another run-game cakewalk for the mobile Willis and star-studded Tenneseee running back Derrick Henry.

But Willis has clearly been paying attention to a Texans team that has been oh-so-close to pulling off major upsets in the last two weeks.

"They've been playing hard games against these last few teams they've been playing," Willis said. "You just gotta respect them."

However, based on his play in the first performance against Houston, do the Texans have enough reason to reciprocate these feelings after what they've nearly done in the past two games? One quick look at Willis' numbers show that the Texans should be able to heighten their already strong focus on stopping Henry rather than potentially stressing over the rookie signal-caller.

In seven games this season, Willis has gone just 17 of 38 for 177 yards, no touchdowns and one pick. His average yards per rush (four) nearly matches his averages yards per completion (4.7). Henry has thrown a touchdown pass before Willis has this season, who is still looking for his first-career score.

Despite being known for his dual-threat athleticism, Willis has looked flustered in the pocket at times and lacks awareness of when to get the ball out. Houston's underrated pass defense -- which is on par statistically with the elite defense of the Bills -- could look to take advantage.

Of course, it's never a team's plan to go out and overlook anyone on an NFL roster. But until Willis gives the Texans a reason to respect him, they can feel better knowing that he's under center and not Tannehill.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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