happens in the second half of an NFL season is what matters most.They listened carefully.Not only have the Titans salvaged a 2-4 start to put themselves into playoff contention Britton Colquitt Jersey , they have won four straight and six of seven to tie Houston atop the AFC South. The division rivals play twice in the final three games, starting Sunday when the Titans (8-5) host the Texans (8-5).'"It's been good to be able to put ourselves in a position now to focus and concentrate on the Houston Texans," Vrabel said Monday.The Titans had some help trimming the gap with Houston after the Texans lost 38-24 to Denver. Tennessee followed up byrouting Oakland 42-21 on the road.“Every game is big for us from here on out," quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. ``There is no looking ahead to anything. It's one game at a time and take advantage of the opportunity that's in front of us."WHAT'S WORKINGThe offense keeps improving seemingly with each game. The Titans are averaging 31.4 points a game since Tannehill became the starter — second most in the NFL in that span. They also have 27 touchdowns over the last seven games, a big jump from the 11 scored through the first six games. It's why Tennessee now ranks 10th in the NFL in points scored per game.The Titans averaged 9.36 yards per play against Oakland, the highest single-game average in franchise history and the best for any team this season. That comes two games after they averaged 9.06 yards per play against the Jaguars.Derrick Henry is second in the NFL in rushing, just 38 yards back of Cleveland's Nick Chubb, despite being cautious with a sore left hamstring. Henry is tied with Dalvin Cook of Minnesota with 13 TDs rushing.Tannehill threw for aseason-high 391 yardsin Oakland, completing a pass to 10 receivers as Tennessee piled up a season-high 552 yards. He leads the NFL with a 118.5 passer rating“My confidence only grows when I see them make those plays," Tannehill said.WHAT NEEDS HELPThe banged-up secondary. Starting cornerback Malcolm Butler is on injured reserve, and Adoree' Jackson missed the Raiders game with an injured foot. LeShaun Sims was out for a second straight week with an injured right ankle. Then starting safety Kenny Vaccaro suffered a concussion against Oakland.STOCK UPThe offensive line has struggled mightily this season with sacks and too many penalties. But the Titans did not allow a sack against the Raiders for only the second game this season. Left tackle Taylor Lewan, who publicly apologized after his own flag-filled game Nov. 10 Tyrod Taylor Jersey , has not been penalized in the three games since that post-game tirade at himself.STOCK DOWNKicker Ryan Succop. He clanked a 42-yard field goal off the left upright just before halftime. Succop now is 1 of 5 on field goals since being activated from injured reserve, and the Titans still rank last in the NFL, making 47.1 percent of their field goals. The Titans signed Ryan Santoso on Nov. 27 to handle kickoffs and have some insurance, and Vrabel said they will keep working with Succop on his process and his accuracy.“He just needs to put a good swing on it, trust that he's made a lot of kicks in this league and will continue to make kicks for us," Vrabel said.INJUREDVrabel declined to give an update on his secondary, noting an injury report will be out Wednesday after practice. Vaccaro is in the concussion protocol. Henry kept his left hamstring warm during the Raiders' game with a pad wrapped around the back of his leg, the same hamstring that has had him on the injury report the past two weeks.“There's no quit in me," Henry said. “My leg would have to be halfway off for me to stop.”KEY NUMBER2007 — That's the last season the Titans swept the season series with the Texans.NEXT STEPSBeat the Texans on Sunday to take the AFC South lead for themselves before hosting New Orleans with the regular-season finale looming Dec. 29 in Houston. A sweep of the Texans means Tennessee's first division title since 2008 and first playoff game at home since January 2009.Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker The last time the Seattle Seahawks started the season 5-1, they ended the year claiming their only Super Bowl title.Right now, the Seahawks aren't even the best team in the NFC West. That distinction belongs to undefeated San Francisco. But there are plenty of signs that a special season could be developing in Seattle.They are unbeaten on the road after Sunday's 32-28 win in Cleveland, overcoming an awful start to rally from 20-6 deficit and reached 5-1 for only the third time in franchise history and first since 2013. They continue to find a formula that works with a defense giving up plenty of yards but creating timely turnovers and being tough to score on in the red zone."Our guys took charge really up front on both sides of the ball from what had looked like the beginning of disaster Baker Mayfield Color Rush Jersey ," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.And then there is Russell Wilson, who continued building his early candidacy for MVP with another error-free performance against the Browns. Wilson was 23 of 33 for 295 yards, two touchdowns passing and one running. He's responsible for 17 total touchdowns through six games and has yet to commit a turnover."I think the best way to put it is that No. 3 is in his bag right now. Top of his game," Seattle cornerback Shaqill Griffin said. "That is the person we look up to and believe in. He believes in us. We are going to keep on doing that. We are going to keep doing what we have to do to win these games."The Seahawks still have injury concerns on the offensive line with Duane Brown and D.J. Fluker uncertain for this week. But just in time to face one of the more challenging offenses in the league with Baltimore visiting this week, the Seahawks are getting defensive tackle Jarran Reed back from his six-game suspension.WHAT'S WORKINGSeattle's confidence and belief in Chris Carson is paying off. He could have been benched after losing three fumbles in the first three games. Carson has posted at least 100 yards in each of the next three games, including his career-best 124 yards against the Browns on Sunday. It has helped that Seattle has stayed in better down-and-distance situations giving Carson more opportunities at carries, but he's also been more productive with those additional rushes. Carson is averaging 115.3 yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry over the past three.WHAT NEEDS HELPSeattle didn't get much, if any, pressure on Cleveland QB Baker Mayfield. Some of that was by design, according to Carroll. Cleveland called a number of quick passes to get the ball out of Mayfield's hands, and Seattle was primarily focused on stopping the run. Nevertheless, the lack of QB pressure continues to be a concern. Seattle finished with zero quarterback hits and began the week with only 18 on the season. Reed's return should help https://www.brownsfanshop.com/Emmanuel-Ogbah-Jersey , especially if he can approach the kind of pressure he created last year when he had a career-high 10 ½ sacks.STOCK UPWR Jaron Brown had zero targets the first two weeks of the season. He was on the field, but was invisible. No matter how much coaches and Wilson said they wanted the ball going his direction, it wasn't happening.That changed starting in Week 3 and he capped this run of more throws coming his way with two touchdown grabs against Cleveland. It was just the second multi-touchdown game of Brown's career, the other coming in Week 13 last year when he had two TDs against San Francisco.STOCK DOWNMichael Dickson was a first-team All-Pro as a rookie last season. He hasn't approached the same level of consistency or distance with his kicking yet this season, including a forgettable 23-yard punt out of his own end zone that led to a Cleveland touchdown in the fourth quarter.Dickson averaged 48.2 yards per kick last season. He's at 45.1 through the first six games.INJURIESSeattle lost TE Will Dissly for the season with what the team believes is a torn Achilles tendon. Carroll said the team has not received a final confirmation of the diagnosis, but all signs point to Dissly being out for the season. Dissly missed most of last season after suffering a ruptured patellar tendon. He had developed into one of Wilson's favorite targets with 23 catches and four touchdowns.KEY NUMBER1980 — The Seahawks have started 3-0 on the road for the first time since the 1980 season. Surprisingly, the Seahawks finished that year 4-12 overall. The Seahawks won at the New York Jets in Week 7 to improve to 4-0 on the road and 4-3 overall. The Seahawks proceeded to lose their final nine games of the season and were winless at home.NEXT STEPSIt's reunion time. Seattle welcomes Baltimore on Sunday and will see former All-Pro safety Earl Thomas, who left the Seahawks acrimoniously in free agency during the offseason. The last time the Seahawks saw Thomas in person on the field, he was leaving on a cart in Arizona after suffering a fractured lower leg in Week 4 of last season and giving Carroll a one-finger salute on his way off the field. There will be plenty of cameras following Thomas in his return to Seattle on Sunday.