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Texans proud of win streak, but aiming higher

The Texans have done what no other team in NFL history has done, to win eight consecutive games after digging themselves into an 0-3 hole.

But just two days after their 34-17 Monday night win against Tennessee, it's business as usual inside NRG Stadium. As the wins have piled up, the outlook has remained the same.

An eight-game win streak is significant, but not the ultimate goal.

"I'm not trying to minimize that, but in the end, we haven't done anything other than that – which I think is important that this organization is proud of that – but what is the goal?" head coach Bill O'Brien asked. "Is the goal to be known as the first team that came back from 0-3 to win eight straight? That's great, but the goal this week is to get better and try to understand how we're going to be able to beat Cleveland."

The team is singularly focused on each day, each practice, each meeting. There is no talk of the postseason with five regular season games still remaining. When asked about veteran Demaryius Thomas and his prior Super Bowl experience being a benefit to younger players, O'Brien shuts down the question.

"There will be no talk from me about anything other than the game last night and then moving on to Cleveland," O'Brien said Monday. "I will tell you that Demaryius Thomas is a great pro and we're really fortunate to have him on our football team. He did a great job last night, but we're not going down the road of inching toward anything other than inching toward the meeting that we're going to have or inching toward a staff meeting at 11 o'clock."

During their 0-3 start, the Texans had no choice but to tune out the distractions and work. After back-to-back overtime wins against Indianapolis and Dallas, the Texans won a third game in the final two minutes against Buffalo with a Johnathan Joseph pick-six that kept them from heading to a third overtime. Two months later, the Texans haven't stopped winning games.

J.J. Watt, who was part of the Texans second-longest win streak (7) in 2011, says there is no secret to the turnaround.

"It's nothing special, just daily work," Watt said. "Everybody has a routine: you go to practice, you watch film, you go to meetings, you have good days, you string them together. I think that it really hasn't been anything crazy. I think we have a lot of talent, we have a lot of great players in the room. It was just a matter of us putting it all together and playing complete games, complementing each other and picking each other up when the other side's down. It's just day-to-day. I don't think there's anything crazy that we've done. It's just work."

The (8-3) Texans will next host the (4-6-1) Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 12 noon CT on CBS and SportsRadio 610.

See photos of Texans players as they arrive for Monday Night Football against the Titans. Arrival photos are presented by Palais Royal. Vote your favorite gameday fit here!

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