The Houston Texans don’t know which team they’ll host at NRG Stadium in the wild-card round matchup in two weeks.
A lot can change from now until Week 18’s final whistle.
The good news? It won’t be the Denver Broncos or the Cincinnati Bengals.
The bad news? It could be a rematch with the Baltimore Ravens with similar results.
As the AFC South champion, the Texans are locked in as the No. 4 seed with a 9-7 record. Since the Ravens secured a 31-2 win over Houston on Christmas Day, the Texans are stuck at the No. 4 spot based on head-to-head matchups.
While the Texans could finish with a 10-7 record should they win Week 18’s battle against. After that, they’ll host the No. 5 seed.
Who will that be? Let’s break down the scenarios.
Baltimore Ravens
At 11-5, the Ravens’ path to winning the AFC North and the No. 3 seed is simple. All Baltimore must do is secure a win over the Cleveland Browns at home next week.
If the Ravens were to lose, the Pittsburgh Steelers could win the AFC North and get the No. 3 seed with a win over the Bengals. At 11-6, Baltimore would secure the No. 5 seed. Fans already saw what happened the last time these two teams met at NRG Stadium.
This is the last scenario Texans fans are hoping for after a disastrous outlook on Christmas Day.
Pittsburgh Steelers
This is the most likely outlook based on the current standings. Should Baltimore and Pittsburgh win, the Steelers would secure the No. 5 seed at 11-6.
If the Steelers were to lose to Joe Burrow and the Bengals on the road, they would need the Los Angeles Chargers to lose to the Las Vegas Raiders to stay at No. 5.
Pittsburgh holds the tiebreaker over Jim Harbaugh’s roster thanks to a win in Week 4.
Los Angles Chargers
The Chargers (10-6) clinched a playoff spot with their win over New England on Saturday. Justin Herbert’s heroics could make Los Angeles the most dangerous contender entering the playoffs.
While the Chargers are postseason-bound, they’re in line for the No. 6 seed over either Denver or Cincinnati. To secure the No. 5 seed, they’d need to beat the Raiders while having the Steelers lose to the Bengals.
Houston hasn’t played the Chargers since Week 5 of the 2022 season, which resulted in a 34-24 loss at NRG Stadium.