With one regular season game remaining, the Houston Texans have locked up an AFC South division title after Saturday's 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With one more game left in the regular season, the Texans will be facing a Tennessee Titans team that needs a win to clinch their Wild Card spot. Houston will be hosting a playoff game in the first round of playoffs, but that doesn't mean they won't be looking to close out the 2019 season on a winning note on Sunday.
"We're going to work hard to be ready to go, but I think this whole deal today and this week is about Tennessee," head coach Bill O'Brien said Monday. "I really believe that. I think that we've got to be ready to go and we've got to play the game to win, because it's a very important game, it's a division rival. We know that we're in the playoffs, we know that Tennessee has to win to get in the playoffs and we need to go out there and be ready to go and play this game to win. So, I think that's the most important thing this week."
The Texans could still improve their seeding from No. 4 to No. 3 in the AFC with a win over the Titans and a Kansas City loss. The Chiefs, who host the L.A. Chargers on Sunday, would drop to the fourth-overall seed with a loss since Houston has the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating the Chiefs in Week 6. The Chiefs-Chargers game will be likely be decided before the start of the Texans-Titans matchup, which has been flexed to 3:25 p.m. CT. O'Brien said no matter the outcome, his team will play to win.
"Whoever's playing in the Tennessee game, we feel can help us beat Tennessee," O'Brien said.
For the Titans, Sunday's game is a must-win scenario.
"The focus and the mentality is that now, we are playing playoff games," Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said via the Titans website. "When you win in the playoffs you (play) another game, and you lose, and your season is over. So that is the mindset that we have to take and the approach we have to take."
The Texans will host the Titans on Sunday for Fan Appreciation Day. Kickoff has been moved to 3:25 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on CBS and SportsRadio 610.
