The Texans are champions of the AFC South for the eighth time in franchise history. They will host a playoff game - tickets are on sale now.
Houston's in the playoffs, but with three games remaining in the regular season, the first-round opponent depends on an array of scenarios.
NFL Week 16 Matchups
The bottom line for THIS weekend is this: in addition to wanting a Texans win at Kansas City, you want the Ravens to beat Pittsburgh and the Patriots to beat Buffalo.
Best Scenario For Houston
- Texans over Chiefs
- Ravens over Steelers
- Patriots over Bills
The Texans (9-5) are the AFC South champs and they'll host a home playoff game in the Wild Card round.
The Texans face the AFC-leading Chiefs (13-1) this Saturday in Kansas City, and then host the Ravens (9-5) on Wednesday at NRG Stadium. They'll wrap up the regular season at Tennessee (3-11). The Titans are tied for last place in the division with Jacksonville.
They won't be able to nab the top spot in the AFC, which would give them the Wild Card weekend off, and homefield advantage in the Divisional and Conference championship rounds.
Texans Playoff Scenarios - No. 2 Seed
Houston is currently the 4-seed, but they could possibly rise as high as the 2-seed when the season concludes.
To become the 2-seed, the Texans would need to:
- Win all three of their remaining games
- AND have the Bills (11-3) lose two of their final three
- AND have Pittsburgh (10-4) lose at least once
But the Texans could also get to the 2-seed by
- Winning two of their final three
- AND having the Bills lose all three
- AND the Steelers lose two of their final three
Buffalo's Schedule
Buffalo finishes with a home game this Sunday against the Patriots, a home game the following week versus the Jets and then the season finale at New England. The Jets and Patriots have combined to win seven games in 2024.
Houston beat Buffalo in early October and owns a head-to-head tiebreaker if both squads finished with 12-5 or 11-6 records.
Texans Playoff Scenarios - No. 3 Seed
To get the 3-seed, which is currently occupied by the Steelers, it's not quite as tricky. Houston could achieve it with:
- Three wins
- AND one Pittsburgh loss
- OR two Bills losses
The Texans could also be the 3-seed if:
- Houston beats Baltimore
- AND the Steelers lost all three remaining contests
- AND the Ravens lose to the Browns
