Texans playoff picture: Updated chances for Houston to make 2025 NFL postseason after Week 14 win vs. Chiefs originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Many might be hesitant to believe it, but the Houston Texans are legit, and a large part of that is due to their elite defense. The Texans’ offense has struggled immensely at times this season. To be fair to them, they’ve had multiple games with starting players missing due to injuries. The Houston defensive front was salivating at the idea of taking on a battered Kansas City offensive line, but the Texans only sacked quarterback Patrick Mahomes twice. They did force him into bad throws, though, and played their usual huge role in bringing Houston a win. The Texans left Arrowhead Stadium with the 20-10 victory over the Chiefs. Here is more on the Texans’ chance to make the 2025 postseason after a win in Week 14. Texans playoff pictureWeek 14 was a wild one for the Texans. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones tore his Achilles and is done for the year. The win over the Chiefs vaults Houston over Indianapolis in the AFC playoff standings. The Texans now have an 8-5 record and hold the No. 7 seed in the AFC playoff picture. The Texans still have a shot at the AFC South division crown, which would bring with it a top-four seed and home-field advantage in the Wild card round of the playoffs. Houston now trails the Jacksonville Jaguars by just one game. The Texans split the season series with the Jaguars, and the Week 18 game against the Colts doesn’t look nearly as intimidating with Indianapolis not having Jones. Houston will need some help from Jacksonville losing, but it still has a legitimate shot heading into Week 15 of winning the AFC South. RankTeamRecord1Denver Broncos11-22New England Patriots11-23Jacksonville Jaguars9-44Pittsburgh Steelers7-65Buffalo Bills9-46Los Angeles Chargers8-47Houston Texans8-58Indianapolis Colts8-59Baltimore Ravens6-710Kansas City Chiefs6-711Miami Dolphins6-712Cincinnati Bengals4-913New York Jets3-1014Cleveland Browns3-1015Las Vegas Raiders2-1116Tennessee Titans2-11Texans remaining scheduleAfter the game against Kansas City on SNF, the Texans have two games where their defense should dominate. Neither the Las Vegas Raiders nor the Arizona Cardinals has enough firepower to match the suffocating force of the Houston defense.However, the Texans then end the year with two massive games against quality opponents. Depending on how things shake out the rest of the way, Houston could be taking on Indianapolis in Week 18 for the chance at winning the division. WeekOpponent15vs. Cardinals16vs. Raiders17at Chargers18vs. Colts