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The Texans may be in line for a wild card berth as of the start of Week 13, but they still need a lot of help from the rest of the conference if they want their playoff-bound status to hold up. Here are the current AFC standings for every team that is still "in the hunt".
|
Team
|
Win-Loss
|
Division Record
|
Conference Record
|
|
|
10-1
|
4-0
|
7-1
|
|
|
9-2
|
3-0
|
7-1
|
|
(3) Denver Broncos
|
9-2
|
2-1
|
5-2
|
|
|
6-5
|
3-0
|
4-3
|
|
(WC) Kansas City Chiefs
|
6-5
|
2-1
|
5-2
|
|
(WC) Houston Texans
|
6-5
|
2-1
|
4-3
|
|
|
6-5
|
2-2
|
5-4
|
|
|
6-5
|
1-2
|
3-4
|
|
|
5-6
|
1-1
|
5-3
|
|
|
5-6
|
3-2
|
5-5
|
|
|
4-7
|
1-2
|
4-5
|
Houston faces yet another tough wild card contender this weekend in the Bills, and in all likelihood that game will help determine who punches their ticket to the postseason after Week 17. Here is who you should be rooting for on Sunday to help make that dream a reality.
Houston at Buffalo
Who you should root for: Houston.
Why you should root for them: Rex Ryan press conferences are always really entertaining after he loses.
Cincinnati at Cleveland
Who you should root for: Cleveland.
Why you should root for them: The same reason as last week. The more the Bengals lose, the more likely it is that a potential fourth seed Texans team could avoid Cincy entirely in the playoffs if they drop down to the third seed. I really, REALLY do not want to face the Bengals again on their home turf with revenge on the mind.
Baltimore at Miami
Who you should root for: Baltimore.
Why you should root for them: Miami is basically out of it at this point, but they still hold a head-to-head tiebreaker with Houston from earlier in the season. Having the Dolphins yet another loss back in the standings can’t hurt.
New York at New York
Who you should root for: New York.
Why you should root for them: Seriously, though, root for the Giants. The Jets are still nipping at the Texans' heels in the wild card standings, and I would feel a whole lot more comfortable if they fell another game back in the race this week.
Jacksonville at Tennessee
Who you should root for: Tennessee.
Why you should root for them: The same reason as last week. Because not only would a win for the Titans give them an even worse draft pick next spring, but it helps keep the Jaguars out of the wild card hunt as well.
Kansas City at Oakland
Who you should root for: Oakland.
Why you should root for them: If the Texans win and the Chiefs lose, the Texans will overtake them in the wild card standings by one game, which would put Houston in the five seed…for now.
Denver at San Diego
Who you should root for: San Diego.
Why you should root for them: A Broncos loss will not hurt Houston at all, and to be honest, Charger fans deserve another home win or two before their team inevitably (and painfully) leaves for Los Angeles.
Philadelphia at New England
Who you should root for: New England,
Why you should root for them: Do you really want to face Tom Brady in primetime after he loses two straight games? Yeah, I don’t either.
Indianapolis at Pittsburgh
Who you should root for: Pittsburgh.
Why you should root for them: If the Texans win and the Colts lose, Houston will all of the sudden have sole possession of first place in the AFC South. How about THEM apples, Bleacher Report writers?
A lot of things need to go Houston’s way this week, but it is not out of the realm of possibility to see the Texans win their fifth straight game and sit comfortably in the driver seat for a playoff berth. Everyone else in the AFC just needs to do their part and start losing (looking at you, Matt Hasselbeck). Surely that is not too much to ask, is it?
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