The Houston Texans are locked into the AFC’s No. 4 seed but will play their starters for an unknown time in Sunday’s regular-season finale at Nissan Stadium against the Tennessee Titans.
They will attempt to reach back-to-back double-digit win seasons for the first time since 2018-19.
The last time Houston took the field on Christmas Day, it was a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens, when the offense failed to score any points. The defense was not much better, as they saw their streak of nine consecutive games with a takeaway come to an end.
Houston is likely the preferred opponent for wild-card teams. A rematch with Baltimore may be on the table if the Ravens lose to Cleveland and Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati. Should Baltimore win against the Browns, it would clinch the AFC North and the No. 3 seed, while Pittsburgh would be the No. 5 or No. 6 seed.
Tennessee won the first meeting as its offense created several explosive plays, and the defense did just enough against a struggling Texans offense.
Below are five keys to victory for the Texans on Sunday.