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The second longest streak of wins in the NFL? That would belong to the Houston Texans. The New Orleans Saints have won 10 straight games and the Texans are right behind them eight times.
Three games after the start of the season, it seemed more likely that Bill O'Brien was already sacked than the Texans who had won eight in a row to take control of AFC South. But after getting sluggish with a slow start against the Tennessee Titans to win a 34-17 win Monday night, the Texans are 8-3 and have a two-game lead in the south from the AFC.
The Texans looked very good at some games in the winning streak. They played well Monday night. In others, they were lucky. Everything counts the same thing. Houston is one of the NFL's most prominent teams and, barring a really odd event, we have a little over a month to see the debut of Deshaun Watson in the playoffs.
The two stars of the Texans came back strong
Some factors contributed to the rise of Texans. It is not surprising that J.J. Watt and Watson returned to the dominant form was a big part of the turnaround.
Watt played plays on Monday night, including nine tackles and 1.5 sacks. He had a bag and a forced fumble on a key at the beginning of the fourth quarter. There was a lot of concern about how he would have come back after a bad broken leg last season and earlier problems before that. He still looks great.
Watson too. It might have looked a bit rusty at the beginning of the season, after having an ACL operation, but no more. Watson threw two fine touchdown passes to Demaryius Thomas, then appeared quick on a 15-yard touchdown in the second quarter. It was not Watson's most brilliant game, but he was still good.
Texans have other high-end talents, like DeAndre Hopkins and Jadeveon Clowney. That's why it was so strange that Houston was 0-3 to start the season. Then it just changed.
Texans control AFC South
Texans took breaks. Colts coach Frank Reich, who has also been excellent this season, made a strange call at the end of the extra period to qualify for fourth place in his own territory. The Texans had a stop, a short drive and a win. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett did not appear in overtime while Dallas was in Houston territory. The Texans happily took the punt and got the winning score. The Broncos made huge strategy mistakes and then missed a field goal at the end of a Texans win in Denver. A two-point win in Washington was punctuated by the loss of quarterback Alex Smith of the Redskins, injured in the leg in the middle of the third quarter.
So, Houston was lucky. That's good, because every team on a series of such long wins will catch some good fortune.
No matter how Texans arrived here, they look dangerous. The pass rush is as good as in the NFL, and Marcus Mariota has consistently arrived Monday night. Watson is an incredible talent, and if Thomas continues to mix well with the offensive after coming from Denver in a mid-season exchange, he and Hopkins form a dangerous duo.
The Texans virtually eliminated the Titans from the division race on Monday night. Realistically, all they have to do to win the South is to retain the Colts and even get a pass in the first round is still on the table. There are eight games, that did not seem possible.
Deshaun Watson led the Texans to a big AFC South victory over the Titans. (AP)
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