Here's a crazy thought: The Houston
Texans with home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
Yep, the team that began the season
0-3 just might sneak past the Chiefs and Patriots and claim that coveted spot.
The Texans have won nine in a
row. They've done so in all sorts of ways, from strong defense to opportunistic
offense to solid special teams to superb coaching.
On Sunday, they face Indianapolis
(6-6) and can pretty much knock the Colts out of postseason contention with a
win.
Indianapolis has won three of the
past four against the Texans in a series in which the past eight games were
decided by seven or fewer points.
Should Houston get by the Colts,
the remainder of the schedule has visits to the Jets and Eagles and a home
finale against Jacksonville. Considering that two-month string of wins, why
can't the Texans run the table?
"It's a small
accomplishment," says defensive end Jadeveon
Clowney, who has justified being the top overall pick in the 2014
draft. "We still haven't even won the division with winning nine in a row,
we have no playoff spot, and nothing right now locked up.
"So, it's a small
accomplishment, but hopefully it will lead to bigger things for us. We're
playing for much more than just the division right now. We're trying to play
for first, second, third seed, whoever is ahead of us right now."
That would be Kansas City (10-2)
and New England (also 9-3). Both have a more testing December.
The weekend began with Thursday
night with Tennessee's 30-9 home victory over Jacksonville.
Derrick Henry sped
and stiff-armed his way to a record-tying 99-yard touchdown run for Tennessee
(7-6). Henry tied Tony Dorsett's 99-yarder on Jan. 3, 1983, for Dallas against
Minnesota for the longest TD run in NFL history. Henry set a franchise record
with 238 yards on just 16 carries, topping the previous mark of 228 yards set
by Chris Johnson in 2009 against yes, the Jaguars. Henry finished with a
career-high four TDs, tying Lorenzo White and Hall of Fame running back Earl
Campbell for most rushing TDs in a single game in franchise history.
Jacksonville dropped to 4-9.
NEW ORLEANS (10-2) AT TAMPA BAY (5-7)
The Saints take the NFC South
with a win or a Carolina loss. They're eager to get back on the field after
their worst performance of 2018, a Thursday night loss at Dallas in which they
were overwhelmed by the Cowboys' defense.
Tampa Bay, which has gained more
yards on offense than anyone -- yes, even New Orleans -- won the first meeting
to open the season. Then the Saints won their next 10 games.
Bucs quarterback Jameis
Winston has not turned over the ball since regaining the
starting job two weeks ago. In the past three games, one in relief, Winston has
completed 61 of 84 (72.6 percent) with six touchdowns and one interception for
a 119.1 rating.
LOS ANGELES RAMS (11-1) AT CHICAGO (8-4)
The Rams already own the NFC West
title. They earn a first-round playoff bye by beating the Bears.
This is an intriguing matchup,
LA's second-ranked offense against Chicago's No. 4 defense. The Bears are
second stingiest against the run, and the Rams' Todd Gurley leads the NFL in
both yards rushing (1,175) and yards from scrimmage (1,649). Chicago's defense
leads the NFL with 21 interceptions and will test Jared Goff.
Chicago hopes to have regular
quarterback Mitchell
Trubisky back from a shoulder injury that cost him two games.
He'll need to watch for Rams DT Aaron Donald,
making a strong statement for a second straight NFL Defensive Player of the
Year award. He tops the NFL with 16+ sacks, has at least two in three straight
games.
NEW ENGLAND (9-3) AT MIAMI (6-6)
A Patriots win -- this is one
place they don't like, having lost four of the past five at Miami -- means yet
another AFC East crown, 10 in a row. Tom Brady has
won 12 of his past 13 starts within the division. He's also ready to establish
another NFL record: Brady has 579 career TD passes, including postseason, tied
with Peyton Manning for the most.
New England also has found a
rushing defense, not allowing a 100-yard gainer since Week 3.
Miami has been outgained by 1,168
yards and is on pace to break the 1967 team record yet is in wild-card
contention. The Dolphins do rank third with 25 takeaways.
BALTIMORE (7-5) AT KANSAS CITY (10-2)
CINCINNATI (5-7) AT LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (9-3)
PITTSBURGH (7-4-1) AT OAKLAND (2-10)
Two AFC division races involved
here.
The Ravens have crept within a
half-game of the Steelers in the North, but they have a massive challenge at KC
while Pittsburgh shouldn't struggle much at lowly Oakland.
Beating the high-powered Chiefs
at Arrowhead calls for a monstrous defensive showing, and Baltimore has the
top-ranked D. It also has a clock-killing run game with rookie Jackson at
QB: The Ravens have had at least 200 yards rushing in three straight weeks.
Still, Kansas City is 5-0 at home
and leads the league in scoring at 37 points a game. Patrick
Mahomes has a league-leading 41 TD passes and 43 throws of
25-plus yards.
Kansas City, which gets a playoff
berth with a win, can't afford a stumble with the Chargers one game back; they
meet next Thursday night. With Cincinnati in a rugged, injury-caused slump, LA
could romp Sunday.
The Chargers have a few
complicated ways of getting at least a wild card this week. Philip Rivers has
thrown two or more TDs in each of his first 12 games, tied for the
third-longest streak to begin a season in NFL history.
Rivers has 10 TDs and six INTs in
six games against the Bengals, who have won four straight meetings in the
regular season.
The Raiders have won the past
three home games in this series since losing in 1995 and the Steelers are 3-8
all-time in Oakland. Still, unless they hand things to the Raiders, they should
win even without standout RB James Conner (ankle).
MINNESOTA (6-5-1) AT SEATTLE (7-5), MONDAY NIGHT
Whoever emerges here has an
inside track to a wild-card berth, though the Vikings still think they can grab
the NFC North title.
Seattle is exceptional in prime
time: 24-5-1 since 2010. Russell
Wilson has 29 touchdown passes and five interceptions through
12 games. He has thrown at least two touchdowns in eight straight outings and
has 16 touchdowns and two interceptions in Monday night games. Plus, the
Seahawks are leading the NFL averaging 148.8 yards per game rushing.
But Seattle has been inconsistent
defending the pass, and Kirk Cousins tops
the league with 350 completions. Adam Thielen leads
the NFL with 98 catches, is second in yards with 1,166, and tied for fifth in
TDs with nine. Thielen and Stefon Diggs are
the only pair of teammates in the NFC with 80 or more receptions.
PHILADELPHIA (6-6) AT DALLAS (7-5)
A Cowboys victory gives them
control of the NFC East; they won at Philly earlier this season. Dallas has won
four straight and comes off that impressive victory against the Saints,
followed by a nice rest.
Eagles TE Zach Ertz has
already established a single-season franchise record with 93 receptions He's 18
away from breaking Jason Witten's NFL record for TEs.
NEW YORK GIANTS (4-8) AT WASHINGTON (6-6)
Remember Mark Sanchez?
He's now the Redskins' starter with both Alex Smith and McCoy
out with broken legs. It's his first start since 2015, and the Redskins are a
banged-up bunch everywhere.
New York, which lost star
safety Landon Collins (shoulder)
for the rest of the season, has won three of four since its bye. RB Saquon
Barkley and WR Odell Beckham
Jr. are having big years despite a leaky offensive line.
ATLANTA (4-8) AT GREEN BAY (4-7-1)
Most interesting storyline is Joe
Philbin taking over as Packers coach and calling plays for the first time in
his pro career. Aaron Rodgers has
thrown a franchise-record 336 attempts without an interception, trailing only
Brady (358 in 2010-11) for the longest such stretch in league history.
Linebacker Deion Jones had
a career-high 15 tackles and one sack last week, returning after missing 10
games while injured. But the Atlanta defense is 31st against third downs (51
percent).
DENVER (6-6) AT SAN FRANCISCO (2-10)
The Broncos have awakened with
three consecutive victories. But they have one road win in the past 30 seasons
vs. the 49ers. They lost top wideout Emmanuel
Sanders in practice this week with a torn Achilles tendon.
San Francisco's five takeaways
are the fewest through 12 games since at least 1940. The previous low was seven
for Jacksonville in 2016.
CAROLINA (6-6) AT CLEVELAND (4-7-1)
A four-game slide has seriously
endangered the Panthers' playoff chances. Their passing game has struggled and
now Cam Newton has
a sore right shoulder. He was picked off four times last week.
But they're averaging 140.8
rushing yards per game, only behind Seattle's 148.8.
Coach Ron Rivera fired D-line
coach Brady Hoke and assistant secondary/cornerbacks coach Jeff Imamura.
Top overall draft pick Baker
Mayfield threw three interceptions in the first half in a loss
at Houston to dampen some of the enthusiasm in Cleveland. The Browns lead the
AFC with 27 takeaways.
NEW YORK JETS (3-9) AT BUFFALO (4-8)
It looks as if Sam Darnold is
recovered from his strained right foot, setting up a matchup with fellow
first-round selection Josh Allen among
rookie QB prospects.
Darnold has a 3-6 record and has
thrown a league-high 14 interceptions. Allen has 391 yards passing, three TDs
and two interceptions, and 234 yards rushing and a TD in his past two games
since missing four with a sprained right throwing elbow.
DETROIT (4-8) AT ARIZONA (3-9)
The Lions have lost eight
straight at Arizona, their last win coming in 1993. Plus, Detroit is 0-3
against the NFC West this season.
Cardinals WR Larry
Fitzgerald needs one catch to move ahead of Jerry Rice for the
most receptions for one team in NFL history. Fitzgerald needs one TD catch to
match Antonio Gates
for sixth on the career list.
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