The Indianapolis Colts (6-5) played Thursday night in a matchup against the Houston Texans (7-4), resulting in a 20-17 road loss at NRG Stadium.
That loss will likely have some implications down the stretch when the playoff seeding is being finalized, and the Colts should have their eye on a few games this week that will impact the playoff race.
Here is the rooting guide for the Week 12 games:
- Broncos (3-7) vs. Bills (7-3) — root: Broncos
- Steelers (5-5) vs. Bengals (0-10)— root: Bengals
- Raiders (6-4) vs. Jets (3-7) — root: Jets
- Jaguars (4-6) vs. Titans (5-5) — root: Jaguars
The Bills currently hold the top wild-card spot in the AFC playoff race. Any help to get them closer to the pack would be nice for the Colts, who are in the middle of the hunt.
The Steelers currently hold the tiebreaker over the Colts in the playoff seeding so a loss will be necessary. However, they are playing the Bengals. Don’t get your hopes up.
The Raiders also hold the tiebreaker over the Colts because of their Week 4 win. The Colts have to have a better record than both the Raiders and the Steelers by season’s end to get in.
The Jaguars and Titans game is tough because if both teams could lose, that would be the option. The Colts hold the tiebreaker over the Titans so a loss would give a one-game cushion on top of the tiebreaker. The Colts also face the Titans in Week 13 so they could additionally creat some space in the race.