HOUSTON – A hot Texan team from Houston on a long winning streak did not seem to be doing their part during the opening Monday night football. Houston let the Titans take a 10-point lead before AFC South's leaders moved in to give the impression of being at the top of the division.

Twenty-one points from the home team remained unanswered, Texans winning an eighth straight win despite a 0-3 start to the season.

Here are three things we learned from the Texans 34-17 victory:

1. Is this why the Texans traded against Demaryius Thomas? Twenty-seven days after the Broncos had traded their choice of the fourth round of 2019 in Denver against Thomas, the receiver showed up at the clutch. The first ball he rocked into the right-hand corner of the end zone put Houston on the goals board in the first quarter. When the Titans moved closer to 10 in the fourth quarter, Thomas started again: another road, another break to create a separation of the corner half of the Titans. Thomas scored his first and second touchdown in a Houston jersey on Monday.

2. Oh, and then there was the racing game: The success of Thomas and DeAndre Hopkins in connection with Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has paved the way for a great day on the ground. The feature film: Lamar Miller's 97-meter running back in the first game of training for the second quarter. The score was the longest in Houston history, and the longest in the league since a 97-yard run in 2014 … also from Miller, while he was with the Miami Dolphins. No NFL player can claim more than 97 yards before Monday. Miller now has two of the six longest races in the history of the league. Watson added a ground score, thanks in part to Ryan Griffin's excellent freeze.

3. Mariota lost, but he did almost Perfectly: The 17 points of the Titans did not follow the score of Houston, 34. But Mariota clung to a perfect score of 158.0 smugglers until 1:09 left in the game, completing 19 consecutive passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, he was fired six times for 43 yards, including a naked bag by the defensive offensive J.J. Watt, which once again confirms that the Pro Bowler is back after an injury that ended the 2017 season.

But Mariota did not throw a failure until his 20th attempt with just over a minute of play. And his touchdowns were big hits: a 61-yard score from the narrow Jonnu Smith to first quarter and one of 48 yards from Corey Davis in the fourth.

Despite all, the Titans' inability to provoke an offensive for two and a quarter quarter between the bombs was not enough to thwart a Texas team, playing inspired football to honor the memory of its owner Bob McNair, who died Friday at the age of 81 years. skin cancer.

The Texans move to 8-3, AFC's third record and with a 96.4% chance of qualifying for the playoffs, according to the ESPN football index.

Follow Jori Epstein from USA TODAY Sports on Twitter @JoriEpstein.

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