When the Houston Texans take the field on Monday night against the Tennessee

Affixed to the back of each player's helmet as they try to set a franchise record with their eighth straight win will be a small decal in the shape of a football with simple white block letters bearing his initials of "RCM."One of the NFL's most influential owners Youth Kareem Jackson Jersey , McNair had battled both leukemia and squamous cell carcinoma in recent years before dying in Houston on Friday. He was 81. The team did not release a cause of death, but said he died peacefully with wife Janice and his family by his side.While McNair hadn't been around the team much this season as his health declined, he'd been a near constant presence in years past. He was often seen sitting on a golf cart watching his team practice or standing on the field before games.On Saturday before the Texans started practice, coach Bill O'Brien discussed McNair's fight with cancer and his passing with the team."He loved the Houston Texans and he loved coming out here to practice and he loved ... the veterans will tell you, the guys that have been here a long time, sitting in his cart with (son) Cal (McNair) watching practice, driving around to the different drills," O'Brien said on a video provided by the team."And I just think on a day like this before we hit the field 鈥?this is his field 鈥?(we'll) have a little moment of silence and then we break and we'll go to practice. Because at the end of the day, guys, Bob McNair wanted us to win."After games McNair, who dressed impeccably in a suit to watch the team play, would often emerge from the locker room to address the assembled media, beaming and raving about the Texans after big wins or lamenting that they had to do better after tough losses.This team wasn't merely a business to McNair, he cared deeply about the Texans and talked often about his desire to bring Houston its first Super Bowl title.The Houston Oilers never won one before skipping town for Tennessee after the 1996 season. It was then that McNair made it his mission to return the NFL to the city. He formed Houston NFL Holdings in 1998, and on Oct. 6, 1999, he was awarded the 32nd NFL franchise. The Texans began play in 2002.And whether near or afar McNair had been a presence in all 266 games the Texans had played since their inaugural game on Sept. 8 www.texansauthorizedshops.com/authentic-...rick-mckinney-jersey , 2002, when they beat the Cowboys 19-10.Quarterback David Carr, whom the Texans chose with their first draft pick and who led them to that win, recounted McNair's kindness and knows better than most just how desperately he wanted to win a Super Bowl."That was really the only regret after I left Houston was that I wasn't able to bring a championship home for him and Janice because they definitely deserved it just because of what all they did to bring football back to Houston," Carr said on NFL Network.Now the Texans will continue that quest without McNair, under the guidance of Cal McNair, who has been serving as the team's chairman and chief operating officer and will take over in the wake of his father's death.The last full season McNair would see was a disappointing one, with the Texans finishing 4-12 in a year where J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson both sustained season-ending injuries.Early on it looked as if this would be another lost season for the Texans after they dropped their first three games.But instead of crumbling after that terrible start, Houston has bounced back to become the first team since the 1925 New York Giants to win seven straight after opening a season 0-3.Their next challenge will be facing a Tennessee team that is expected to get quarterback Marcus Mariota back after he missed the second half of the Titans' 38-10 loss to Indianapolis after suffering a stinger.The AFC South-leading Texans lost to the Titans 20-17 in Week 2 in a game that Mariota missed because of an elbow injury.Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who worked as an assistant in Houston for the past four years, thinks that his team is better than it was in that game, but knows that the Texans have improved, too."Other than last week, we probably were playing better defense than the first time, but you never know," he said."The great thing about this league is you have to prove it every week. Every day that you come to work, as a player in this league and as a coach in this league DeAndre Hopkins Jersey , you have to prove your value to the team. We have to get to work and be able to practice and prepare against a good football team." The Jacksonville Jaguars are sticking with Blake Bortles as their starting quarterback.Coach Doug Marrone made the announcement Monday, one day after benching Bortles early in the third quarter of a 20-7 loss to Houston."I spoke to both quarterbacks this afternoon and told them Blake will be our team's starting quarterback," Marrone said in a statement. "I believe this gives us the best opportunity to win."Bortles fumbled on Jacksonville's third play in each half, leading to 10 points for the Texans and prompting Marrone to switch to Cody Kessler. Marrone said after the game he would open up the QB job for the second time in as many years. He also benched Bortles in the 2017 preseason, only to give him back the job nine days later.Marrone took less than 24 hours to go back to Bortles this time, saying he will start Sunday's game against Philadelphia (3-4) in London.The Jaguars (3-4) have lost three in a row and four of five, derailing a season that started with Super Bowl aspirations.Jacksonville seemingly reached a low point Sunday when the locker room erupted in fiery emotion following a third consecutive lopsided loss in which the offense failed to score in the first half.

Calais Campbell was seen holding back fellow defensive end Yannick Ngakoue when the locker room briefly opened to the media. It was the final scene of frustration that also included screaming, shouting and finger pointing.Campbell, an 11-year veteran and one of six team captains, called a players-only meetings Monday to "talk about some issues.""Will it help?" defensive tackle Malik Jackson said. "Hopefully so. Hopefully guys will speak up and not be silent, hopefully talk about some issues that they feel are bothering them."The Jaguars have been mostly inept on both sides of the ball during the losing streak, trailing 23-0 at Kansas City, 24-0 at Dallas and 20-0 at home against the Texans.The injury-riddled offense can't do what it's built to do 鈥?run the football 鈥?and has a lackluster receiving corps dropping balls at inopportune times. The high-profile defense can't stop the run and has allowed too many big plays."People are strained," Jackson said. "This is a business about producing, about winning, and we're not producing or winning right now. This locker room is not going to tear apart for a few losses. Hell, we went 3-13 our first year here."The expectations were much higher after advancing to the AFC title game in January Authentic Kevin Johnson Jersey , which is why the locker room started to crack and crumble."You can't have little groups or little indecision of what is the right way or the proper way. You have to get everyone in the same boat," Marrone said, pointing out the team is minus-12 in turnover differential. "We have done this to ourselves, and the only people going to be able to dig us out of it is ourselves. But we all have to have the same vision on how to do it."My thing to the team is we can go in all of these different directions, but if these two things do not change, those two things do not change, those directions aren't going to matter."Bortles was the scapegoat Sunday, with Marrone making the move to "put everyone on notice."Bortles completed 6 of 12 passes for 61 yards, fumbling twice on third-down scrambles.Kessler came off the bench and had a short touchdown pass to T.J. Yeldon, but he was sacked four times in five drives, plus threw an interception and fumbled.It's really not that surprising Marrone stuck with Bortles. The team signed him to a three-year, $54 million contract in February with the belief he was good enough to lead the defensive-minded team back to the playoffs.Bortles played turnover-free football in the postseason, gaining top executive Tom Coughlin's confidence and landing the new contract. He's played with far less efficiency lately, managing two TD passes and eight turnovers in the three straight losses.NOTES: The Jaguars released veteran running back Jamaal Charles three days after acquiring Carlos Hyde from Cleveland. Hyde is expected to play a significant role against the Eagles. ... Marrone said injured RB Leonard Fournette (hamstring) will travel to London.