NFL unveils kickoff time for Week 18 between Texans vs. Colts

There’s a start time for Sunday’s season finale between the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts.

With both teams out of contention for the No. 1 seed — and the Colts out of the playoff picture altogether — the Texans will kick off Week 18’s game on CBS at NRG Stadium. With a victory, Houston will secure the most wins since DeMeco Ryans played undernearth Gary Kubiak in 2012.

Entering Monday night, the Texans (11-5) currently own the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture. With a loss, Houston could fall to as low as the No. 7 seed, but with a win, it still has a shot at its third consecutive AFC South championship. The biggest thing for Houston is that it must be pulling for the Tennessee Titans to upset the Jacksonville Jaguars, thus putting both teams at 12-5.

With the same record, Houston would clinch the division since it would finish 5-1 against AFC opponents, while the Jaguars would finish 4-2. The Texans would also clinch the AFC’s No. 3 seed based on the divisional record tiebreaker, meaning they’d host the No. 6 seed, which could be either the Jaguars, Buffalo Bills or Los Angeles Chargers.

If the Texans and Jaguars were to win, Houston would be promised the No. 5 seed since it holds head-to-head tiebreakers over the No. 6 seed Chargers (11-5) and No. 7 Bills (11-5). If all three teams were to lose on Sunday, the Texans would still own the tiebreaker, therefore giving them the highest seed.

Around the NFL, the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will kickstart Week 18 on Saturday for a chance to claim the NFC South title. Following that game, the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks will do battle for a chance at the NFC West division title and the No. 1 overall seed.

On Sunday evening, the Baltimore Ravens will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers for a shot at the AFC North title. Should the Texans win, they would automatically face the winner of the finale as the winners of the division.

Here’s the list of games for Sunday’s regular-season finale.

SaturdayPanthers at Buccaneers, 3:30 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)Seahawks at 49ers, 7 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)SundayColts at Texans, noon (CBS)Titans at Jaguars, noonCowboys at Giants, noonPackers at Vikings, noonBrowns at Bengals, noonSaints at Falcons, noonChargers at Broncos, 3:25 p.m.Chiefs at Raiders, 3:25 p.m.Commanders at Eagles, 3:25 p.m.Jets at Bills, 3:25 p.m.Dolphins at Patriots, 3:25 p.m.Cardinals at Rams, 3:25 p.m.Lions at Bears, 3:25 p.m.