Texans playoff schedule: Who does Houston play in divisional round?

The Houston Texans entered the playoffs as the AFC’s weakest division winner. The AFC South’s annual mediocrity allowed Houston to clinch a division title with a 10-7 record. 

The Texans appeared to be stumbling into the playoffs after losing two of their final four games to close out the regular season. To make matters worse, their playoff opener was against the No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers, who scored 34-plus points in three straight wins to close out the season. Despite holding home-field advantage over the Chargers, the Texans entered the game as underdogs.

Ultimately, none of the warning signs mattered. The Texans defeated the Chargers 32-12 at NRG Stadium on Saturday. After falling into an early 6-0 deficit, Houston rallied to take a 10-6 lead. The Texans defense  dominated the second half, and Eric Murray helped his team pull away by returning an interception for a 38-yard touchdown. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who finished the regular season with just three interceptions, was picked off four times by Houston’s defense.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has now led his team to double-digit victories and a playoff win in each of his two seasons in the NFL. Stroud’s rookie season came to an end with a 34-10 loss against the Baltimore Ravens, but he’ll look to take a step forward and advance past the second round in his sophomore campaign.

Who will the Texans play in the Divisional Round?

Houston hosted the first AFC Wild Card game of this year’s playoffs, so the Texans’ opponent for the Divisional Round is yet to be determined. Although the list of potential opponents will slowly begin to dwindle down, Houston may not know their next opponent until the AFC’s final Wild Card game between the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills. That matchup is slated to kickoff at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

As the No. 4 seed, Houston’s next round will be determined by the amount of Wild Card teams that remain standing after the Wild Card weekend. The Kansas City Chiefs will face the lowest remaining seed, but no other team has advanced beyond the Wild Card Round yet.

Regardless of their opponent, the Texans will play on either Saturday, Jan. 18, or Sunday, Jan. 19. Unless the remaining AFC Wild Card games both result in upsets, the Texans will be on the road for the Divisional Round. 

Texans playoff schedule: Dates, times for every round

The only way the Texans can host another playoff game at NRG Stadium this season is if the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens lose their Wild Card matchups. If the Denver Broncos defeat the Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Ravens, the Texans would host the Steelers in the Divisional Round. If the Bills lose and the Ravens win, the Texans would have to travel to Baltimore for a rematch of last year’s Divisional Round matchup. If the Bills win and the Ravens lose, the Texans would travel to Buffalo.

Houston’s most likely scenario is also the least favorable one. Buffalo and Baltimore are both favored to win their home Wild Card games. If they both win, Houston would travel to face the well-rested No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

Houston likely won’t be favored in any of those potential matchups, but they’ll be capable of beating any team if the defense can carry their momentum from the Wild Card Round into the Divisional Round. That’ll be easier said than done against the AFC’s slew of potent offenses.