HOUSTON — Deshaun Watson threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third as the Houston Texans set a franchise record with their eighth straight win, 34-17, over the Tennessee Titans on Monday night.
Demaryius Thomas scored his first two touchdowns as a Texan, and Lamar Miller rushed for 162 yards, including a 97-yard scoring run.
In the first game since founder and owner Robert McNair died on Friday, the Texans (8-3) honored him by wearing decals on the back of their helmets in the shape of a football with white block letters bearing his initials, R.C.M.
With that reminder on their helmets, they became the first team in N.F.L. history to win eight games in a row after starting 0-3. They lead Indianapolis by two games in the A.F.C. South.
The Texans trailed by 10 early before reeling off 27 straight points. Tennessee (5-6) finally scored again on a 48-yard reception by Corey Davis late in the third quarter, but the second touchdown by Thomas — this one for 10 yards — made it 34-17 with just more than eight minutes left.
Marcus Mariota was 22 of 23 for 303 yards and two touchdowns. He completed his first 19 passes before an incompletion with just more than a minute remaining.
Miller’s 97-yard breakaway in the second quarter made it 21-10. It was the longest run in Texans history and the longest run in the N.F.L. since his dash of the same length for a touchdown on Dec. 28, 2014, when he was with the Dolphins. He became the only player in league history with two career rushing touchdowns of 95 yards or longer.
