They won and they are in.
The Houston Texans took care of business 23-20 over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16. Even if they didn’t, the Tennessee Titans fell to the New Orleans Saints 38-28, which was another way for the Texans to win the AFC South.
For the Texans, they don’t need to beat the Titans. In fact, beating the Titans has no impact on their chances to get out of wild-card weekend (Jan. 4-5); they are locked in as the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots are set to have the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. All winning would do, plus the Kansas City Chiefs losing, is set them up with a bout with either the Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, or Oakland Raiders and avoid playing the Buffalo Bills, who are slated to be the No. 5 seed, the highest wild-card. It isn’t worth the risk of injury to key contributors.
The Titans need to beat the Texans to secure the sixth and final wild-card spot. If they lose, then they would have to hope for the Steelers to lose and the Indianapolis Colts to lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars. There is a scenario where Pittsburgh is the No. 6 seed if the Titans lose, the Colts win, and the Raiders lose. That is the fun of the last week of the regular season.
To get ready for the Week 17 action here is important game day information so you can catch the game. Follow the @TheTexansWire and the crew (@therealmarklane, @averydduncan, @arwoodnfl, @somesportsguyy).
You can live stream the game on FuboTV (try it free).
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans — Sunday, Dec. 29 at 3:25 p.m. CT
TV channel: CBS (Jim Nantz & Tony Romo)
Live stream: FuboTV (try it free)
Radio: Sports Radio 610 (KILT-AM), Mega 101 (KLOL-FM) (Marc Vandermeer & Andre Ware)
Location: NRG Stadium
Forecast: Partly cloudy, 59 degrees, 9 mph wind (indoors)
Referee: Clete Blakeman
Odds: Texans -4.5