NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The potential for a division championship is no longer in play, but the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans still have tons on the line tonight in Nashville.
The Houston Texans just wrapped up a 20-3 home victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11) in their Week 17 matchup at NRG Stadium; at 11-5, Houston has clinched its third AFC South Division title in four years.
The Colts (9-6) and Titans (9-6) headed into today's action needing a Houston loss matched with a win on their end to clinch a division title, but now are simply playing for the sixth seed in the AFC playoff picture.
The winner of tonight's Colts-Titans game will likely travel to Houston next weekend to take on the Texans in the Wild Card round. The league will determine if that game will be played on Saturday, Jan. 5, or Sunday, Jan. 6. The only way Houston would instead get the No. 2 seed in the AFC is if both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers lost today in the late-afternoon games, and then Houston would need to clinch a tie over the Chiefs in a strength-of-victory tiebreaker.
For the Colts, a win tonight over the Titans would mean the team's first playoff appearance since advancing to the AFC Championship Game in the 2014 season.
The Colts and Texans split their two matchups in the 2018 regular season, with each team stealing a road victory. The Texans escaped Lucas Oil Stadium with a 37-34 overtime victory back in Week 4; the Colts, meanwhile, flew home from NRG Stadium in Week 14 with a 24-21 win.
