If the Texans listen to Tennessee outside linebacker Keith Bulluck, they can forget about beating the Titans on Monday night at Reliant Stadium.
And while they’re at it, the Texans can forget about making the playoffs for the first time.
“I know they have playoff aspirations and everything, so we’re really looking forward to coming down to Houston and destroying all playoff hopes and aspirations they have,” Bulluck told the Nashville media after practice Thursday.
The Texans are 5-4. The Titans are 3-6 with a three-game winning streak.
The Texans won the last two meetings: 13-12 at Reliant Stadium last season and 34-31 at LP Field this season.
Bulluck sounded as if he didn’t like the way the Texans celebrated the win in September that evened their record at 1-1.
“We’re talking about a team that has never even sniffed the playoffs before, so I guess when they beat us or other teams in the (AFC South), I guess to them it’s like a playoff game,” he said. “Last game, it was only the second game of the season, but I thought it was for the AFC championship.”
The Titans had a seven-game winning streak in this rivalry until the Texans broke it last season and started a streak this season.
“It has kind of been one-sided, and it will probably continue to be that way,” Bulluck said about the Titans leading the series 11-4.
Bulluck acknowledged “the Houston Texans have been playing good football.”
Bulluck was asked Thursday if the Titans’ relationship with the Texans is like a big brother or former wife who left town.
“We’re kind of more like distant cousins in the sense that this organization used to be in Houston, (and) we are like cousins,” he said. “They’re like our fourth or fifth cousin. We don’t really acknowledge them.
“With that said, they have a huge stage on Monday night. We both do. And we’re a 3-6 team with nothing to lose.”
Bulluck isn’t looking for revenge for the defeat in September when Texans quarterback Matt Schaub was 25-of-39 for 357 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. His rating was 127.8.
“It’s not necessarily payback,” Bulluck said. “The first game we had a couple of busted coverages, trying some new things out.
“This week it’s line up and play. If they’re looking at that Week 2 game and thinking that’s the defense they’re going to get, they’re mistaken.”
