HOUSTON (SPORTSRADIO 610) -- The Houston Texans have won eight straight games for the first time in the franchise history, beating the Tennessee Titans 34-17 on Monday night to improve to 8-3 and continue sweeping through the heart of their schedule.
Texans linebacker Bernardrick McKinney says the trick to the historic hot streak is by just taking it day by day: "Taking it one game at a time, one day at a time. It's unbelievable. The coaches have been doing an unbelievable job just gameplanning and putting us in the right spots to make plays. So, I mean, it's great for us."
The one constant throughout the win streak has been the defense. The Texans defense has been incredible since it started the season 0-3.
The usual suspects have made their presence known in the past eight games: J.J. Watt is having a comeback season to remember, Jadeveon Clowney continues to disrupt offenses, and Kareem Jackson produces wherever defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel decides to put him on the defense.
This stalwart defense is completely different than the one the Titans were forced to face earlier in the year. In Week 2, the Texans' only sack came from Duke Ejiofor. Under the bright lights of a Week 12 Monday Night Football matchup, the Texans had six sacks against a division opponent who was threatening their reign over the AFC South.
Different players find a way to step up every week, and this week it was Christian Covington -- who had 2.5 sacks against the Titans.
"This team is resilient," Covington said. "We've shown that throughout this season. So something like that wasn't going to deter us from what we know that we're capable of. This team is, we're a bunch of fighters. The proof is in the pudding right there with that game. We just fought our way back, clawed our way back, and that was a great team win."
If the Texans continue to get the kind of play out of their superstars on defense and have other players step up each week playing huge roles, then this season could end on a much, much brighter note than it started on.
