Battle Red Blog
Houston has sole possession of the 8th spot in the AFC South… just one game out of the playoffs. Even with the four-game winning streak, they’re on the outside looking in and need to win at least three, if not four games to keep their season going. With that, I asked the other Battle Red Blog writers their thoughts on which game holds the most weight remaining this season.
According to ESPN, the Houston Texans have a 59% chance to make the playoffs. With five games to go, which matchup do you believe is the biggest “must win” to end the season?
Remaining schedule:
The Colts game to end the season has the most impact. While our fate could potentially be sealed by Week 18, this matchup holds the greatest implications of the remaining contests. With a win, Houston could outright win the division and secure home field advantage to start the playoffs.
This game has greater significance than the other four due to the Colts being the last AFC South opponent. Houston holds a 4-1 record in the division, which will be imperative in their playoff tie-breaker scenarios. A win against the Colts gives us the head-to-head advantage and best record against AFC South opponents in the division.
I will say the Chargers game has the second-highest implications. The Chargers hold the first Wild Card spot and are one game ahead of Houston. They face a DAUNTING schedule to end the season: Eagles, Chiefs, Cowboys, Texans and Broncos – all teams with winning records. A win against the Chargers unseats a current Wild Card opponent with a brutal schedule down the stretch.
Perhaps a bit of cheating, but Houston MUST bank those home wins. In particular, they have to get the Raiders and Cardinals, both eliminated from playoff consideration this weekend. Bonus if they can get the Chiefs, but given this is at Arrowhead and the Chiefs are in desperation mode, a loss seems likely. The Chargers could be a coin flip.
In theory, the home game against the Colts could be for the division, or at least a win-or-go-home scenario, but if Houston can’t get the must-and-should-wins against Arizona and Las Vegas, it won’t matter. At the bare minimum, Houston needs to go 3-2 to finish the season to be in playoff consideration. Worse than that, probably not happening.
’ll be honest, I don’t think there’s a game they can afford to lose at this point. Losing one at this point might be enough to knock them out of the playoff hunt entirely. The Colts are still a concern and as overrated as they are, the Jags aren’t going away. If I had to choose a single game that wouldn’t be a disaster for the Texans to...
