Streaking Titans host skidding Texans

“I don’t know who draws the papers up, but these games in this league, these are grown men with a lot of pride. If you take a play off, you can get hurt. Not only can you lose the game, but somebody can get hurt.”

– TENNESSEE TITANS COACH MIKE VRABEL

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans are flying high, sitting atop the AFC standings and tied for the NFL’s best record at 8-2. They’ve beaten five straight playoff teams from last season, something only one other team in league history has accomplished.

Now comes a different kind of challenge on their schedule with Sunday’s visit by the Houston Texans (1-8), an AFC South Division rival but one that has lost eight games in a row.

“You want to kind of kill their hopes early in the game,” Tennessee safety Kevin Byard said.

The Titans (8-2) have won six straight for the NFL’s longest active winning streak, but that run started after they let a struggling team hang around long enough to start believing. The New York Jets got their first win this season at Tennessee’s expense, winning 27-24 in overtime on Oct. 3.

Titans coach Mike Vrabel has been preaching the need for urgency, intent on cleaning up mistakes that cropped up in last weekend’s 23-21 home win over the New Orleans Saints. As of Saturday afternoon, FanDuel Sportsbook listed Tennessee as a 10 1/2-point favorite over Houston, which is coming off an open date.

The Texans have struggled in their first season with former assistant David Culley as head coach. Culley is a native of Sparta, Tennessee, who played at Vanderbilt and has coached at four colleges in his home state, including the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1983.

“I don’t know who draws the papers up, but these games in this league, these are grown men with a lot of pride,” Vrabel said. “If you take a play off, you can get hurt. Not only can you lose the game, but somebody can get hurt.”