HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) - As one of the last remaining players from the Texans last playoff team, Laremy Tunsil has endured a lot of losing over the previous three seasons, but after Sunday’s 21-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals Tunsil finds himself back in the thick of the postseason mix.
“It's been a long time coming,” Tunsil said to SportsRadio 610. “Just to see this team stay consistent, fight hard, try to be attention to detail every play. It’s very rewarding because we put in a lot of work.”
The Texans have won three in a row for the first time since 2018, improving to 6-4 on the season, and all three wins have come down to the game’s final drive.
“The last three years when I was here, it wasn’t ideal for us,” wide receiver Nico Collins said. “But just to get these six wins and continue to grow every single week is important, and it shows every single Sunday.”
With seven games to play, the Texans have already doubled their win total from 2022, and the team once projected to finish last in the AFC South controls its own destiny, but next Sunday’s game against the Jaguars might be the most important of the seven remaining on the schedule.
“We need it,” Collins said. “We ain’t won the division in a minute, so we’re cooking right now, we’re boiling, and we’re just itching for that division title.”
The Jags will arrive at NRG Stadium on Sunday with a 7-3 record after Sunday’s 34-14 win over Tennessee. The defending AFC South champions have won six-of-seven, but the Texans would pull into a tie for first place with a win, and it would give them the head-to-head tiebreaker by way of winning both regular season meetings.
“We’re gonna prepare well, Texans wide receiver Tank Dell said. “We’re gonna go out here and execute in practice, and then once you get to Sunday, it’s gonna be a showdown for both teams.”
Dell caught five passes for 145 yards and a touchdown when the Texans won 37-17 in Jacksonville on September 24, and Houston has won 16-of-19 against the Jaguars over the last decade, and while they won’t be able to win the division on Sunday, the Texans can take a step towards doing something very few people thought they could do before the season started.
“It’s a great opportunity for us,” Tunsil said. “It’s not going to be given. Sunday’s going to be earned. They’re going to come in and play their hardest, but we beat them the first time, so we gotta prepare for that.”