The Houston Texans can clinch their second consecutive AFC South championship this weekend if two things occur.
The 2019 season for the Houston Texans has had some excellent moments, but it also has had those moments where you want to smash your head through a wall. With that said, this weekend could be a weekend of celebration if two things occur for the Texans and the Tennessee Titans.
If the Texans (9-5) want to sell division championship merchandise before Christmas arrives next week, they can do so if they take care of business by defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday afternoon. If that happens, followed with a loss by the Tennessee Titans (8-6) on Sunday as they are scheduled to face the New Orleans Saints, who are 11-3 and in a battle of their own for the top spot in the NFC, the Texans will be AFC South champions once again.
To make things simple, if the Texans win on Saturday and the Titans lose on Sunday, that gives the Texans a two-game lead with one game left in the regular season, and the AFC South championship as the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts who are already eliminated from playoff contention.
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This is an excellent situation for the Texans to be in going into Week 16 of the NFL season for one big reason, rest.
Clinching the AFC South championship one week before the end of the regular season would give the Texans a chance to rest up some of their injured players in Week 17 against the Titans as it is doubtful they move up higher than the No. 4 spot in the AFC playoff standings.
The first part of this scenario is the Texans must defeat the Buccaneers, and as of Friday morning, according to The Action Network, the Texans are -3 point favorites on the road against the .500 Buccaneers (7-7), who are officially without their top wide receiver Chris Godwin as he’s been ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Godwin this season has 86 receptions for 1,333 yards with nine touchdowns, averaging 15.5 yards per reception, so not facing him is a bit of a relief for a questionable Texans secondary. In the game where Godwin injured his hamstring last Sunday vs. the Detroit Lions, the Tampa Bay wide receiver had five receptions for 121 yards, including a 51-yard reception.
Even with Godwin ruled out, the task of defeating the Buccaneers on Saturday to gain the first part of the AFC South championship scenario won’t be easy. The Tampa Bay offense is going to put up big numbers with the passing game of Jameis Winston and company, but he’s also prove to turnover the ball with interceptions.
The win for the Texans in Week 16 comes down to the offense of the Texans not getting stalled early on, and it would be nice to see them score a touchdown or two in the first quarter, and not settle for field goals.
This is a game where the Texans need to score early and make their presence felt, because a win on Saturday would put the pressure on the Titans this Sunday when they face the Saints in their Week 16 game.