Houston Texans still control AFC South championship hopes
Though the nine-game winning streak is over, the Houston Texans are still in the drivers seat in the AFC South. They have a two-game lead and three games left on the schedule.
One loss after winning nine in a row isn’t the end of the Houston Texans’ season by any means. The Texans still have a two-game lead over the the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans in the AFC South with three games remaining on the regular season schedule.
The Texans, who are 9-4 overall, lost to the Colts in Week 14 this past Sunday by a 24-21 score, giving them their first loss since Sept. 23 when they lost in Week 3 to the New York Giants. The Texans have also split season series with not only the Titans, but with the Colts as well, so that makes the AFC South even a little more interesting as the regular season winds down.
In Sunday’s loss, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson finished 27-of-38 with 267 yards passing and one touchdown. He also led the Texans in rushing with five rushes for 35 yards. Houston’s offense totaled 315 yards, while the Colts had 436 yards of offense in their win over the Texans. A big difference in the game was the Colts averaged 6.6 yards per play on offense in Week 14, while the Texans averaged 4.4 yards per play, leading the Colts to the victory.
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Both the Titans and Colts are 7-6 on the year, while the Jacksonville Jaguars — the winners of the division last season — are 4-9 overall and out of the running to repeat as division champions.
As for the remainder of schedules to see who will win the division championship, here are all three remaining schedules for the Texans, Titans and Colts for Weeks 15-17:
• Texans: Saturday, Dec. 15 at New York Jets; Sunday, Dec. 23 at Philadelphia Eagles; Sunday, Dec. 30 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars.
• Colts: Sunday, Dec. 16 vs. Dallas Cowboys; Sunday, Dec. 23 vs. New York Giants; Sunday, Dec. 30 @Tennessee Titans.
• Titans: Sunday, Dec. 16 at New York Giants; Saturday, Dec. 22 vs. Washington Redskins; Sunday, Dec. 30 vs. Indianapolis Colts.
It is simple for the Texans, all they need to do is win games. If they win games they are AFC South champions once again. A win by the Texans over the Jets (4-9) on Saturday and losses by the Colts and Titans on Sunday in their respective games would clinch the AFC South title for the Texans in Week 15, as that would extend their lead to three games with two game remaining.
That scenario would be the quickest way for the Texans to win the AFC South. Again, though it is simple for the Texans, if they get back to their winning ways in the final handful of regular season games it won’t matter what the Titans or Colts achieve the rest of the season.
Sunday’s loss in Week 14 was a bump in the road where the Texans didn’t play their best football by any means. Now on short rest they will face the Jets on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. ET on the NFL Network. The Jets are coming off a 27-23 win against the Buffalo Bills, as a win isn’t a given, but the Texans should have the advantage.
Next. Texans Rapid Reaction: Streak ends at 9 straight wins. dark
One loss in Week 14 shouldn’t hurt the team too much, with the Texans already shown they can handle adversity very well after losing the first three games of the season and then winning nine straight.