Throughout the course of this week, with all sorts of seeing possibilities still floating around in the NFL ether, the safest bet of the weekend seemed to be the Houston Texans landing in the 5-seed in the AFC. For that to happen, Jacksonville, a two touchdown favorite, needed to beat the Titans, and the Texans, a 10 point favorite, needed to beat the Colts.
Ultimately, that’s what we landed on, but it took a very circuitous route in one of the two games. The Jaguars predictably destroyed the Titans, 41-7, continuing their dominance since losing to the Texans in Week 10. It was the Texans who made their fans sit on pins and needles all afternoon, ultimately riding a batch of substitute players in the second half to a 38-30 win.
The Texans finish the season with a franchise record tying 12 wins, they end the season on a franchise record tying nine game winning streak, and it’s on to the playoffs, where the Texans will face the Pittsburgh Steelers, who won a wild season finale on Sunday night to take the AFC North over the Baltimore Ravens. Let’s get to the winners and losers….
WINNERS
4. Xavier Hutchinson
The Houston Texans decided before the game that Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins would rest on Sunday, ensuring he goes into the playoffs as healthy as possible. It appeared that Nick Caley just took the plays he would normally run for Collins and plugged Hutchinson in his place. Hutchinson had five catches for 84 yards, most of it in Collins’ territory, over the middle, including a big 33 yard catch and run that got the Texans’ offense moving n the first half.
3. Ka’imi Fairbairn
Last week, Texans punter Tommy Townsend took home AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after a solid evening of punting against the Chargers. I would imagine that the Texans will retain that award this week, this time with Fairbairn likely taking it home after a team record six field goals in the win, including the game winner with 12 seconds to go. Fairbairn tied the NFL record for field goals in a season this year with 44.
2. British Brooks
The Texans pulled many of their frontline players at halftime of this game, which is a big reason why they allowed 30 points to a rookie quarterback. More on that in a minute, but this strategy also opened up opportunities for some young players to perform, players normally tethered to the bench or who play only on special teams. British Brooks has been a special teams demon, but on Sunday, he got an opportunity to carry the football in a regular season game, and he responded with 63 big second half yards on 13 carries.
1. Tommy Togiai
Togiai has been lauded throughout the season by Nick Caserio, DeMeco Ryans and others for his consistent performance, going back to training camp. Throughout the season, Togiai has become one of the more important pieces on defense, especially considering how many injuries the team has sustained at defensive tackle. On Sunday, Togiai closed out the game with a touchdown on a fumble recovery. If you wonder what his teammates think of him, just look at this reaction:
LOSERS
4. Texans secondary
Yes, the Texans removed guys like Derek Stingley, Jalen Pitre, and Calen Bullock at halftime. They held cornerback Kamari Lassiter out fo this game altogether. Even when the starters (sans Lassiter) were in the game, though, the pass defense was nothing to write home about. At halftime of this game, rookie QB Riley Leonard, who was (a) making his first career start and (b) is not known for throwing the football, had completed 8 of 13 for 133 yards and two touchdowns. There were way too many chunk plays for the Colts’ offense, regardless of who was out there for the Texans.
3. Tennessee Titans
As mentioned above, the Jaguars throttled the Titans by a score of 41-7. The Titans took an early 7-0 lead, lost starting QB Cam Ward to an injury, and then watch the Jaguars score the next 41 points. The lesson, as always, don’t ever trust the Titans to do any favors for you.
2. Jonathan Taylor fantasy owners
I know this group is a bunch of losers, because I am one of them. Through the first ten weeks of the season, I was throttling everyone in my league. Taylor was getting 150 yards seemingly every week, and life was good. Then, Daniel Jones tore his Achilles, and the whole thing fell apart. Since Week 14, Taylor hasn’t had a game where he averages more than 3.5 yards per carry, and on Sunday, even playing backups on defense, the Texans held Taylor to 26 yards on 14 carries.
1. Shane Steichen
I suppose that listing Steichen here is a little aggressive, considering the Colts announced after the game that he will be back for another season in 2026, despite having yet to make the playoffs in three seasons in Indianapolis. However, I don’t know what the eventual solution will be at quarterback to get the Colts out of their playoff rut. They haven’t been since 2020. Also, Steichen’s call to kick a field goal on 4th and 2 at the Texans 4 yard line to go up 30-29 was a lame, conservative call for a team that had nothing to lose by going for a first down or a touchdown in that instance.
This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.