The Houston Texans lost to the Tennessee Titans 28-25 in Week 18. Though the Texans had nothing to play for, they put up a valiant effort that fell just short against a division-rival. After the Texans-Titans game, we'll be releasing our Texans Week 18 takeaways.

Houston mounted a furious fourth quarter comeback, scoring 15 points in the final period before they ultimately fell just short of the Titans. The Texans' valiant effort featured a strong performance from quarterback Davis Mills, another subpar performance from the Houston rushing offense and a poor showing from the Houston defense. The Texans finished the season 4-13 and will now have to go about navigating the future of their franchise in the offseason.

That said, here are some Texans Week 18 takeaways from their loss to the Titans.

Texans Week 18 Takeaways

3. The Texans running game disappointed again

Houston's running back room received a jolt a couple of weeks back when Red Burkhead ran for over 140 yards against the Los Angeles Chargers. Since then, the Texans running backs have underachieved, just as they did for much of the season. Houston has a bunch of veterans at the position, like David Johnson and Burkhead, who have seen better days. The Texans have unloaded veteran backs this season, like Phillip Lindsay and Mark Ingram, and should do so once again with Johnson and Burkhead. Houston's running back room needs an infusion of youth and athleticism to help jump-start this offense.

2. Davis Mills should be the quarterback next season

Davis Mills isn't the ideal replacement for a Deshaun Watson-type talent. However, after a rough start, Mills has settled in and proven to be an adequate starter in the NFL. The rookie has thrown for nine touchdowns and just two interceptions down the stretch, ending with perhaps his best performance of the year against the Titans- a three-touchdown, 300-yard effort. Keeping Mills for next season would allow the Texans to spend less money at the quarterback spot while upgrading other areas of the roster, such as the defense, that are in clear need of an upgrade. Plus, maybe the Texans actually have something in Mills, who looks to be at worst, a serviceable backup. The Texans aren't going anywhere, so it can't hurt to give Mills another year, especially given how good he looked against the Titans.

1. David Culley may have earned himself the head coaching job for next year

David Culley was a head-scratching hire when he was brought in by the Texans last offseason. There were seemingly better, more experienced options out there. However, Culley, who started off slow, seemed to pick things up as the year went on. He got a fair amount out of a roster with little talent. Did anyone expect this Texans team to win four games? Culley might not be the biggest name, but he proved that he deserves another year as the team's head coach. Plus, if Houston did opt to move on from Culley, there's no guarantee that they wouldn't get boxed out by other franchises for the game's best candidates, who likely wouldn't be too interested in the Houston job. The Texans' valiant effort against the AFC's number-one seeded Titans is just further proof that they should stick with David Culley for next year.