According to NFL.com and ESPN.com, receiver Nico Collins is healthy, but will sit out today’s game.
HOUSTON — The regular season finale is here for the Houston Texans as they take on the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium. Kickoff is at noon in a game you can watch live on KHOU 11.
The big pre-kickoff news for the Texans (11-5) is that the team’s No. 1 receiver, Nico Collins, will be a healthy scratch, meaning he won’t play today. That’s according to reports from both ESPN and NFL.com. While on defense, Houston will face rookie quarterback Riley Leonard after veteran Philip Rivers returned to the NFL for three starts as Colts QB, all losses.
The Texans have already locked up a spot in the playoffs and as it sits now, they’re the No. 5 seed. They can still win the division with a win over Indy and a Jacksonville loss to Tennessee. Both games are noon kickoffs.
Houston is going for its ninth straight win, a big turnaround after starting the season 0-3. They’re only the fifth team since 1990 to make the playoffs after dropping their first three games of the season and the first to do it twice, according to the Associated Press. Houston also started the 2018 season 0-3 and made the playoffs.
“I don’t think a lot of people understand the work that it takes to be able to overcome such a rough start to the season,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It takes a ton of belief. It takes a ton of commitment to the things that you’re doing. You have to trust your process completely. You can’t waver. That’s what I’m most proud of this year, nobody wavering. … For how we had to do it this year, it is one to be proud of for our guys and the work that they put in.”
If the Texans end the season as the No. 5 seed, they’ll take on the winner of tonight’s Pittsburgh-Baltimore showdown.
During the game, we’ll post updates and highlights, and after the game, we’ll stream live postgame analysis on KHOU 11+, plus you’ll hear from head coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.