Getty Bradley Roby #21 of the Houston Texans celebrates with teammates Johnathan Joseph #24 and Carlos Hyde #23 after scoring on an interception during the first quarter of a football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on December 21, 2019 in Tampa, Florida.
The Houston Texans were looking a little shaky late in Saturday’s game after allowing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to erase an early lead and come close to pulling ahead in the game’s final minutes, but a win-sealing interception guaranteed them a spot in the 2019 playoffs and crowned them AFC South champions for the fourth time in five seasons.
The Texans (10-5) set themselves up to clinch after last week’s rivalry win over the Tennessee Titans and held strong against the nothing-to-lose Bucs (7-8), who were already eliminated from the playoff picture coming into the matchup. Now, they will join the field of Super Bowl contenders with a few different seeding options at play before the postseason arrives.
Here’s a breakdown of the current AFC playoff picture after the Texans’ 23-20 win over the Bucs along with an updated look at Houston’s postseason scenarios.
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Updated Look at the AFC Playoff Picture
Disclaimer: All projections will be updated live with relevant Week 16 final results
The Baltimore Ravens (12-2) can clinch the No. 1 seed if they get their revenge against the Cleveland Browns this week, coming into the matchup with a 97 percent chance of going to the playoffs as the conference’s top seed.
The New England Patriots (11-3) will need them to lose out in order to overtake them at the top as the Ravens hold a head-to-head tiebreaker, but they must also do their part and win against the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins to avoid letting the Kansas City Chiefs swipe the first-round bye.
Like the Patriots, the Chiefs (10-4) can also move up in the postseason standings if they win their remaining two games and see New England drop at least one. The Chiefs also hold a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Patriots, meaning matching their record would allow them to bump the Patriots down to the No. 3 seed.
All three teams have clinched playoff spots as have now the Texans (10-5) and Bills (10-4), who will look to contest the Patriots’ claim over the AFC East when they clash later Saturday in New England. Whichever team losing the East will occupy the first wild-card spot, while a scrum of teams consisting of the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6), Titans (8-6), Browns (6-8) and Oakland Raiders (6-8) will vie for the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC.
What Playoff Scenarios Remain for the Texans?
The Texans could have clinched a playoff spot with a loss Saturday, but that avenue no longer needs to be explored, thanks to a great defensive play awarding them their 10th win. There is still, however, opportunity for the Texans to improve their current standing as the AFC’s No. 4 seed.
If the Texans win their regular-season finale against the Titans next week and see both the Patriots and Chiefs lose their final two games, Houston could stumble their way into the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in a scenario that proves the least likely.
The No. 3 seed is a little easier to achieve, requiring only the Chiefs to lose out and finish 10-6 behind an 11-win Texans team. Still, the most attainable seed at this point remains the No. 4 seed, which would mean the Texans would finish with the worst record among the four AFC division winners.
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