![\"Cincinnati](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/cj17.png\")
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After an 0-3 start, the Houston Texans<\/a> are playoff bound. And depending on what happens in Week 18, still have a chance at winning a third straight AFC South title. Standing in their way is an Indianapolis Colts team playing for pride after an injury to Daniel Jones<\/a> sent a once promising season into a tailspin.\u00a0<\/p>\n Houston (11-5) claims the AFC South with a win and a Jaguars<\/a> loss to the Titans<\/a>. As it stands, the Texans would enter the playoffs as the No. 5 seed and to face the AFC North champion (either the Ravens<\/a> or Steelers<\/a>) in the wild card round. If they win the AFC South, the Texans become the No. 3 seed and host either the Bills<\/a> or Chargers<\/a> next weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Jaguars eliminated Indianapolis (8-8) last week from playoff contention. After an 8-2 start, the Colts lost six straight games, becoming the first team in 30 years<\/a> to hold such a dubious distinction.<\/p>\n Where to watch Colts vs. Texans liveDate:\u00a0Sunday, Jan. 4 | Time:\u00a01 p.m. ETLocation:\u00a0 NRG Stadium — Houston, TexasTV:\u00a0CBS\u00a0|\u00a0Stream:\u00a0Paramount+<\/a>Follow:\u00a0CBS Sports App<\/a>Odds:\u00a0Texans -10.5, O\/U 38.5 (via DraftKings<\/a>)Colts vs. Texans: Need to know\u00a0New QB for Colts. After starting 44-year-old Philip Rivers<\/a> for the past three games, the Colts turn the offense over to rookie Riley Leonard<\/a>, who attempted 33 passes over four games. Leonard helped lead Notre Dame to the\u00a0College Football<\/a> Playoff National Championship Game last season, throwing for 21 touchdown passes while running for 17 more scores.\u00a0Taylor in pursuit of rushing title. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor<\/a> is 47 yards behind James Cook<\/a> in the race to win the rushing title. Taylor faces a Texans defense Sunday that is fourth in the NFL<\/a> in rushing. He had 21 carries for 85 yards in the Colts’ 20-16 loss to Houston back in Week 13.\u00a0Money in the red zone. Despite their recent slide, the Colts remain one of the NFL’s best red zone teams on both sides of the ball. The Colts rank third and ninth in the NFL in red zone offense and defense, respectively. Taylor has been a key to the Colts’ offensive red zone success as his 18 rushing touchdowns leads the NFL.\u00a0Steady C.J. One of the NFL’s most overlooked players, C.J. Stroud<\/a> has once again been solid for the Texans. He is completing a career-high 64.8% of his passes with 18 touchdowns against just eight picks. Stroud received solid protection this season with just 23 sacks taken.Emerging skill players. Stroud’s success can also be attributed to the Texans’ young but emerging group of skill players. While Nico Collins<\/a> continues to be the Texans’ primary weapon, rookies\u00a0Jayden Higgins<\/a>, Jaylin Noel<\/a> and\u00a0Woody Marks<\/a>\u00a0add to the skill arsenal.\u00a0No. 1 defense. Houston’s defense may be the primary reason why it is playoff bound after an 0-3 start. The unit allows an average of just 16.5 points per game, featuring a ferocious pass rush led by Danielle Hunter<\/a> and Will Anderson Jr.<\/a>. They have a combined 26 sacks. The secondary features four players with at least four interceptions.Colts vs. Texans prediction, pick\u00a0<\/p>\n The Colts would be better off starting Rivers if they’re serious about winning this game. Instead, they gave Leonard his first career start against the league’s top defense. Good luck, kid.\u00a0Pick: Texans -10.5, Under 38.5\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Images After an 0-3 start, the Houston Texans are playoff bound. And depending on what happens in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2056],"tags":[1586,4128,1466,6291,1518,4566,390,254,117,2778,1035,53,1028,1036,4132,391,256,54,94376,94377,4903,2772,6047,1769,3455,113,2870,7,345,94375,221,253,2368,392,8633,125,3027,569,1736,289,1577,562,1753,6485,872,14451,4861,2526,262,2871,560,251,259,1304,4672,249,56,6,533,69522,69433,109,3725,57,747,4112,17,94379,5226,250,19192,2978,394,222,6042,111,94378,6051,2931],"class_list":{"0":"post-648870","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston-texans","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-adam-thielen","10":"tag-afc-south","11":"tag-alex-anzalone","12":"tag-alim-mcneill","13":"tag-amon-ra-st-brown","14":"tag-arizona-cardinals","15":"tag-atlanta-falcons","16":"tag-baltimore-ravens","17":"tag-barrett-carter","18":"tag-ben-johnson","19":"tag-buffalo-bills","20":"tag-c-j-stroud","21":"tag-caleb-williams","22":"tag-chase-brown","23":"tag-chicago-bears","24":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","25":"tag-cleveland-browns","26":"tag-colts-vs-texans","27":"tag-colts-vs-texans-prediction","28":"tag-dandre-swift","29":"tag-daniel-jones","30":"tag-danielle-hunter","31":"tag-demetrius-knight-jr","32":"tag-deshon-elliott","33":"tag-detroit-lions","34":"tag-dk-metcalf","35":"tag-football","36":"tag-green-bay-packers","37":"tag-hosuton-texans","38":"tag-houston","39":"tag-houston-texans","40":"tag-houstontexans","41":"tag-indianapolis-colts","42":"tag-jamarr-chase","43":"tag-jacksonville-jaguars","44":"tag-james-cook","45":"tag-jayden-higgins","46":"tag-jaylen-warren","47":"tag-jaylin-noel","48":"tag-joe-burrow","49":"tag-joe-flacco","50":"tag-jonathan-taylor","51":"tag-jordan-battle","52":"tag-josh-allen","53":"tag-kenneth-gainwell","54":"tag-kevin-byard","55":"tag-kyle-monangai","56":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","57":"tag-marquez-valdes-scantling","58":"tag-mason-rudolph","59":"tag-miami-dolphins","60":"tag-minnesota-vikings","61":"tag-myles-garrett","62":"tag-myles-murphy","63":"tag-new-england-patriots","64":"tag-new-york-giants","65":"tag-nfl","66":"tag-nico-collins","67":"tag-odds-for-colts","68":"tag-odds-for-texans","69":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","70":"tag-philip-rivers","71":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","72":"tag-riley-leonard","73":"tag-roman-wilson","74":"tag-shedeur-sanders","75":"tag-streaming-colts-vs-texans","76":"tag-t-j-watt","77":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","78":"tag-taylor-decker","79":"tag-tee-higgins","80":"tag-tennessee-titans","81":"tag-texans","82":"tag-trey-mcbride","83":"tag-washington-commanders","84":"tag-where-to-watch-colts-vs-texans","85":"tag-will-anderson-jr","86":"tag-woody-marks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}