NASHVILLE - Thanks to his last-minute, 75-yard touchdown run all but guaranteeing the Tennessee Titans' 24-13 win over AFC South brother Houston on Sunday afternoon, Derrick Henry had plenty of pro football stuff to talk about inside the home team's locker room.
Only this was also the day the College Football Playoff invitations came out. So while he was clearly excited with the Titans' big victory, the last words out Henry's mouth concerned his alma mater.
Thrilled with Alabama's inclusion for the fourth time in the CFP's four seasons of existence, Henry let out a loud "Roll Tide, everybody!" as he headed home for the night.
If nothing else, the Tide's inclusion - which wasn't known until approximately 30 minutes before the Texans-Titans game began - seemed to inspire Henry, who finished with 109 rushing yards and that clinching touchdown.
"I was pretty nervous," said Henry, who won the Heisman Trophy while leading the Tide to the national title in the 2015 season. "As soon as I heard we were in, I was like, 'Let's go!' That was the spark I needed."
Whatever has sparked the Titans of late, it's working to a Tennessee T. Sunday's win was not only the franchise's sixth victory in seven contests, it also avenged an earlier 57-14 setback at Houston.
Critics might justifiably note the Texans still had rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson's remarkable and varied skill set at that point. His blown-out knee a month ago has all but ended Houston's fragile playoff hopes. The Texans were 3-4 with Watson on the field. Without him they've lost four of five to fall to 4-8.
But at roughly the same time the Texans were tumbling, the Titans were trekking star-ward.
"The mindset's really changed on this team," said linebacker Brian Orakpo, who's in his ninth pro season. "We know you can't win a championship in 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 25 minutes. It's about playing 60 minutes, and that's what we're trying to do every week."
As has arguably happened too often this season, the Titans found themselves in a 10-0 hole less than 20 minutes into this one, a score that surely made the crowd of 62,758 quite concerned the 43-point loss on Oct. 1 wasn't entirely due to Watson's wizardry.
"We started slow, but we finished it," said Delanie Walker, the 12-year veteran tight end from Central Missouri who finished with five catches for 63 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown with three seconds to go in the third quarter.
"That's our identity. We ain't going to give up. We're going to tough it out and get the W."
They now have more W's within the AFC South, with four, than any other team, which means they're currently ahead of Jacksonville in the standings, though both teams stand 8-4 overall.
What the Titans also appear to have now is a home-field advantage, which hasn't always been the case. Sunday was their fifth straight win in Nissan Stadium after a season-opening loss to Oakland. That could prove especially beneficial on the final weekend, when the Jaguars visit on New Year's Eve. Having already won in Jacksonville, a second victory by the Titans could - should the two teams tie in the standings - still lock up the division and guarantee the team a playoff berth for the first time since the 2008 season.
"The crowd definitely did their part (on Houston's final series)," Titans defensive lineman Jurrell Casey said. "I've never heard it that loud in here before. We thank them very much for stepping up and doing their part. Looking for more of it. Definitely looking for more of it."
It got so loud on that series, Houston left tackle Jeff Allen drew three straight false start penalties.
"It was pretty chaotic," Allen said afterward. "It got pretty loud; guys couldn't hear."
Added second-year Titans free safety Kevin Byard, who played at Middle Tennessee State: "That's definitely the loudest that Nissan's been since I've been here. This is one of the toughest places to play in the NFL right now, and we want to keep it that way."
Wins like this will help. With road games against Arizona and San Francisco on tap the next two weeks, Tennessee is down to but two more home games - Christmas Eve against the Los Angeles Rams and New Year's Eve against Jacksonville.
"I got goosebumps," Walker said of the crowd that forced Allen to jump three straight snaps. "That was all them (the crowd)."
During his Crimson Tide days, Henry got used to both big, boisterous crowds and championships.
Henry was asked if he sees something in these Titans that reminds him of that national championship season with the Tide.
"It's a collective thing," he replied. "We've become a family. Everybody's pulling together. Everybody's doing what it takes to win."
And as the Tide proved again Sunday, winning begets winning, or at least the benefit of the doubt on whether you once more deserve to be one of four invitees given the chance to win it all.
But Henry isn't downplaying the Titans' chances to develop a championship attitude themselves.
"We've been doing a great job of winning here (at Nissan Stadium)," he said. "We just want to keep it going."
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.