HOUSTON – In an AFC South showdown with a playoff stake on the line, the Texans get a rematch against the Indianapolis Colts on primetime television.
The NFL changed the schedule for the final week of the regular season to highlight the Texans (9-7) squaring off with the Colts (9-7) on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium at 7:15 p.m. Central. The game will be televised by ESPN/ABC.
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The winner will advance to the postseason. The losing team’s season is over.
On Sept. 17, the Texans lost to the Colts, 31-20, at NRG Stadium. Since that 0-2 start, the Texans have gone 9-5 under the leadership of coach DeMeco Ryans and the play of rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, an NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner and Pro Bowl candidate.
“I’m just thankful for just being blessed to be in this position as a coach and happy to change the trajectory of this Texans organization, to be good news about the organization and we’re headed in a good place, playing meaningful football,” Ryans said Sunday following a 26-3 win over the Tennessee Titans. “It means a lot to us, and we’re pleased with where we are. We understand that we didn’t come this far just to get this far. We have a lot to still play for that’s ahead of us.
“Credit to the guys in the room for putting us in this position. Our players stepped up big-time today. It’s a true team win. You just see the impact that those players have on our team. They truly stepped up, made big time plays for us down after down, and they put us in position to be in a really good spot moving forward.”
The Texans, Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars all have identical 9-7 records. The Colts currently own the head-to-head wild-card playoff tiebreaker over the Texans. The Jaguars have a superior conference record and will win the division if they defeat the Tennessee Titans next week.
Should the Jaguars lose, the Texans-Colts winner becomes the AFC South division champion and would host a wild-card playoff game.
Should the Buffalo Bills lose to the Miami Dolphins, the Dolphins fall to the sixth seed. If the Bills defeat the Dolphins, the Texans would be the sixth seed.
If the Texans, Jaguars and Bills all win next weekend, the Texans would travel to face Buffalo in the wild-card round the following weekend.
A combination of Texans, Jaguars and Dolphins victories would send the Texans to face the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the road in the wild-card round.
A scenario of the Texans winning and the Jaguars losing to the Titans would mean the Texans would have a home playoff game against the Cleveland Browns, who trounced them two weeks ago.
“One game at a time,” wide receiver Nico Collins said. “We know what this game coming up at Indy means and it’s going to be a big one. We got to trust ourselves, trust our details and preparation and go out and be us and have fun.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com