The Houston Texans beat the Tennessee Titans 24-21 Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium in a gritty battle that needed all three phases for the Texans to take first place for now.
Given that the Texans do possess first place in the division, how do things look in the AFC playoff picture?
Currently, the Texans would be the No. 4 seed in the AFC wild-card. More than likely, they would be the Saturday afternoon wild-card game, per usual, and they would host the Buffalo Bills, who are the No. 5 seed.
Interestingly, the Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are the No. 6 seed, are playing on Sunday Night Football. If the Steelers were to beat the Bills, then Pittsburgh would travel to Houston for wild-card weekend. Given that the Texans would be playing a more nationally visible franchise, it could bump them up to a Saturday night or a Sunday time slot for wild-card weekend.
In the No. 3 spot are the Kansas City Chiefs, who took care of the Denver Broncos and rookie Drew Lock on the snowy turf of Arrowhead Stadium. As it stands, the Chiefs would host the Steelers on wild-card weekend, presuming the Bills beat the Steelers.
The No. 1 seed in the AFC are the Baltimore Ravens at 12-2. The New England Patriots, who clinched a playoff spot today, are 11-3. Even if the Patriots and Ravens finished with the same record, the Ravens would have the No. 1 seed given the fact they have the head-to-head tiebreaker — just as the Texans do over the Patriots.
Teams in the hunt include the Titans (8-6), Indianapolis Colts (6-7), Browns (6-8), and Raiders (6-8). For the Titans to make the playoffs, they will need to win out, and they will need plenty of help in the form of the Steelers falling to 9-7 or the Texans losing next week at Tampa Bay and again in Week 17 to the Titans.