{"id":101465,"date":"2025-12-26T17:15:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T17:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/101465\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T17:15:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T17:15:12","slug":"texans-nfl-playoff-picture-week-17-scenarios-to-clinch-a-playoff-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/101465\/","title":{"rendered":"Texans NFL playoff picture: Week 17 scenarios to clinch a playoff spot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Another week, another UGLY win. This time, Houston inched their way past the Las Vegas Raiders in one of the more mediocre performances in the DeMeco Ryans era. The offense looked stumped and the defensive line finally showed cracks. Whether the Texans are playing like a \u201cplayoff team\u201d or not, they\u2019re at the precipice of extending their season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">With two games to go, Houston\u2019s chances to make the playoffs have never been higher. They sit at a 99% chance to make the playoffs and have a clear path to the postseason.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">There is only one wild card spot available at this junction. The Texans have possession of it and can clinch with several scenarios.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">*Note: Texans needs the following to happen to clinch a tie in strength of victory with IND:<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">BAL win + BUF win + KC win + SF win + ATL loss + MIA loss<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">If Houston wins one of the next two games, they\u2019ll knock the Colts out of the playoffs. That\u2019s incredible considering the Colts were 8-2 and had a 98% chance to make the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Texans clawed their way to a Wild Card spot, but a chance at the AFC South title remains elusive. That\u2019s because the Jacksonville Jaguars are the NFL\u2019s hottest team. They\u2019ve scored over 25 points in eight straight games including three four over 34 points. Jacksonville needs to lose one of the next two games against either the Colts or the Titans. Neither are quite likely to pull off an upset.<\/p>\n<p>Texans at Chargers Playoff Implications<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Texans can clinch a playoff spot with a win or tie over the Chargers. They\u2019d jump from the 7th seed to the 6th seed, which could mean they would likely face the Jaguars in the first round. The Bolts clinched last week due to the Colts loss against the 49ers.<\/p>\n<p>Week 17 NFL Matchups to Watch<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, 1:05 EST)<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Major implications for both sides of the coin. If the Jags win, they all but secure the division, but essentially get the Texans in the playoffs. However, a Colts win would give Houston the three seed in the playoffs\u2026 if they beat the Chargers. Either way, Houston gains something with a win. If Houston does lose to the Chargers, the Texans will want the Jags to win so Houston can clinch the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Philadelphia Eagles at Buffalo Bills (Sunday, 1:25 EST)<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Huge implications. If Houston beats the Chargers and the Eagles beat the Bills, then the Texans would jump all the way from the seventh seed to the fifth. That would be the most ideal matchup as the 4th seed Pittsburgh Steelers are far-and-away the optimal opponent in the first round. Of course, this game only means something if the Texans can actually beat the Chargers on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Houston Texans\u2019 Remaining Schedule:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Another week, another UGLY win. This time, Houston inched their way past the Las Vegas Raiders in one&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57,23714,40884],"class_list":["post-101465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-houston-texans-analysis","tag-houston-texans-playoffs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}