Texans playoff scenarios are by far the simplest of any team in Week 17

The Houston Texans entered the 2024 season with Super Bowl aspirations and have already achieved what they hope will be the first step of many to the Super Bowl, by clinching the AFC South.

While that's an exciting accomplishment, a big reason why the Texans have already clinched their division has to do with the teams they're competing with. None of the other three teams are even at the .500 mark, and the bottom two teams have combined to win six total games.

The division might be clinched, but there's still plenty for Houston to play for over the final two games of the regular season. A win on Christmas Day against the Baltimore Ravens would go a long way toward making their path to the Super Bowl easier.

Texans are already division winners, but can play for higher seed in AFC

By winning the AFC South, the Texans have ensured they'll play at least one home game at NRG Stadium. Home games have been kind to the Texans, as they've gone 5-2 in Houston. They're just 4-4 when playing away from home.

Unfortunately, Saturday's loss in Kansas City destroyed dreams of Houston claiming the AFC's No. 2 seed and guaranteeing themselves another home playoff game (assuming they took care of business in the Wild Card Round), but, there is a path toward Houston claiming the No. 3 seed. They're currently sitting as the No. 4 seed in the conference.

As of now, the Texans are 9-6. They're set to match up against the 10-5 Ravens, who are tied for first place in the AFC North with the 10-5 Pittsburgh Steelers. By winning out, the Texans would improve to 11-6. The best Baltimore can do is tie Houston's record, and since the Texans will have beaten the Ravens, the Texans would claim the No. 3 seed.

This would only happen, though, if the Ravens won the AFC North. What the Steelers do is entirely out of their hands. If the Steelers win each of their next two games, the Texans would be unable to catch them, and they will have won the AFC North. If the Ravens beat the Texans, Houston would also be stuck as the No. 4 seed.

The path for Houston to get the No. 3 seed is fairly simple. They'd have to win out, and have the Steelers lose at least one of their final two games. If the Texans lose any of their remaining games or the Steelers fail to lose any of their upcoming games, Houston will be the AFC's No. 4 seed.

By moving up to the No. 3 seed, Houston would avoid playing against the Chiefs until the AFC Championship Game, which is absolutely what they should want. For that to happen, though, they're going to have to try to find a way to take care of business on their end and get some help from the Steelers as well.