The fans in Houston always have hated the Titans, identifying them as the team that left town without looking back. Now Tennessee linebacker Keith Bulluck may have stirred up things between the players.

Bulluck said yesterday the Texans treated their 34-31 win against Tennessee like the AFC championship game than Week 2 of the regular season.

He also pointed out Houston has never sniffed the playoffs, so that must be why any win over a fellow AFC South team is treated like a postseason victory.

The Texans (5-4) are thinking playoffs. The Titans?

Well, they stuck at 3-6 after an 0-6 start, and their visit Monday night to Houston provides a huge stage, according to Bulluck.

"We're a 3-6 team with nothing to lose. I know they have playoff aspirations and everything, so we're really looking forward to come down to Houston and destroying all playoff thoughts and aspirations they have. Thank you. Because my season is not going the way that I intended it to," Bulluck said.

Minnesota signed coach Brad Childress to a contract extension. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but ESPN.com reported that the extension would keep Childress in Minnesota through the 2013 season.

Quarterback Chris Simms ran with the first team for the third consecutive practice and is expected to start at quarterback Sunday for Denver when the host Broncos face San Diego.

Quarterback Bruce Gradkowski (Seton-LaSalle High School) will make his 13th NFL start Sunday when he replaces JaMarcus Russell as host Oakland, mired in a three-game losing streak, faces Cincinnati.

Firing coach Dick Jauron was merely the start of a major overhaul Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson is prepared to conduct this offseason in order to make his team a contender again. Yesterday, Wilson told The Associated Press he is open to going after a high-profile coach, willing to hire a general manager with a football background and warned that no position on his team is safe.

Washington running back Clinton Portis (concussion) will miss his second game in a row Sunday when the Redskins visit Dallas.

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