How is that possible? In the Wild Card round, either the Bills or Pats will be the #5 seed going on the road to face either the #4 Ravens or Steelers.
Texans own the tie-breaker w/ Buffalo, and would hold the tie-breaker w/ The Chargers if they beat them next week. In that scenario, Texans are a Bills loss away from the 5-seed if they don’t win the division.
Houston and Baltimore most likely meet in the first round if Houston finishes as a wild card and Baltimore wins the AFC North, or vice versa, with one as the 3-seed and the other as the 6-seed. Houston and Baltimore most likely meet in the first round if Houston finishes as a wild card and Baltimore wins the AFC North, or vice versa, with one as the 3-seed and the other as the 6-seed.[1][2] ## Current positioning - Texans are currently the 7-seed at 9–5, behind Denver, New England, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, the Chargers, and Buffalo.[1] - Ravens are 7–7 and outside the playoff field right now, sitting 9th in the AFC but still with roughly coin‑flip odds to get in.[3][4][1] ## Realistic matchup paths - **Ravens win AFC North, Texans are wild card (most straightforward):** - Pittsburgh (currently 4-seed at 8–6) falls behind Baltimore in the AFC North, making the Ravens the 3- or 4-seed.[2][1] - Texans end up as the 6- or 7-seed wild card, which is plausible given they’re only one game out of the 6-seed and have a soft remaining schedule (Cards/Raiders noted as “letting up”).[5][1] - Resulting first‑round matchup: Ravens (3) vs Texans (6) or Ravens (4) vs Texans (5). - **Texans win AFC South, Ravens make it as wild card:** - Texans catch and pass Jacksonville (10–4) to win the South, becoming the 3- or 4-seed.[5][1] - Ravens sneak in as a 6- or 7-seed wild card over Indy and the AFC East logjam.[4][3][1] - Resulting first‑round matchup: Texans (3/4) vs Ravens (6/5). ## Less likely but possible paths - **Both are wild cards:** - For a 6 vs 7 wild‑card game, the AFC would need an unusual re-seeding or new format; with the current structure, two wild cards can’t play each other in Round 1, so this path doesn’t create a matchup.[1] - **Texans slide out, Ravens climb to 2-seed:** - Texans would need to back into the 7-seed from 9–5 while Ravens go on a run and multiple top AFC teams collapse, creating a 2 vs 7 game; standings and remaining schedules make this more of a mathematical than realistic path right now.[4][5][1] If you want, next step is to plug in specific W/L outcomes for the last three weeks and map exact seeding combos (e.g., “Texans go 2–1, Ravens go 3–0, Steelers go 1–2,” etc.). Sources [1] 2025 NFL Playoff Picture, Scenarios, and Standings - CBS Sports https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/standings/playoffrace/ [2] Expanded https://www.espn.com/nfl/standings/_/view/expanded [3] Ravens playoff chances: Odds to make playoffs as wild card https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...chances-odds-afc-north-standings/87725039007/ [4] 2025 NFL playoff picture, standings: Steelers still atop AFC ... https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2025-nfl-playoff-picture-standings-race/ [5] NFL playoff picture: Postseason probabilities entering ... https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-playof...abilities-entering-week-15-of-the-2025-season [6] Houston Texans Playoff Picture http://www.playoffstatus.com/nfl/texansstandings.html [7] Week 15 Division Update + Playoff Scenarios [8] Texans Week 18 Rooting Guide/Playoff Scenarios [9] Baltimore Ravens Playoff Picture http://www.playoffstatus.com/nfl/ravensstandings.html [10] NFL Standings 2025 https://www.espn.com/nfl/standings [11] NFL Playoff Scenarios | Clinching & Elimination scenarios ... https://nflplayoffscenarios.com [12] NFL Standings 2025-26 - CBS Sports https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/standings/ [13] NFL playoff picture: Postseason probabilities entering Week 12 of 2025 season https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-playof...probabilities-entering-week-12-of-2025-season [14] NFL Week 15 playoff picture: Clinching scenarios, standings https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id...cture-2025-clinching-scenarios-division-races [15] 2025 NFL playoff picture, bracket: How Saturday win by Ravens impacts postseason race, clinching scenarios https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...acts-postseason-race-clinching-scenarios/amp/ [16] NFL Standings 2025-26 Week 16 Records, Playoff Bracket ... https://bleacherreport.com/articles...s-playoff-bracket-scenarios-wild-card-picture [17] 2025-26 NFL Standings: Division | FOX Sports https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/standings [18] Week 14 Division Update + Playoff scenarios [19] NFL Football Standings on TeamRankings.com https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/standings/ [20] TEXANS PLAYOFF SCENARIO GUIDE- DIVISIONAL ROUND EDITION
I wouldn't mind Leo Chenal if they don't bring back Speed. Affordable, good in coverage, battle tested, swarmy, and still young.
Leo is a thumper. IIRC I don't see him in coverage much in that he is much better moving forward (SWARM?) than backpedaling. I like him, Gay Jr. (MIA), Troy Andersen (ATL), & to a lesser extent Muma (IND) as off ball LBs. That being said Gay Jr. or Andersen would be a nice addition - esp. in coverage. My final vote:
Not as bad as it seems. Chiefs can save as much as they need just by restructuring Mahomes and Chris Jones. They can also cut other guys. Chiefs will be back in business next year but will have to get younger and probably be less talented. But in 2-3 years, they will hit a salary cap wall.
To your point, went over to Overthecap.com. 1) restructure Kermit (that move alone puts KC under the cap) 2) restructure C Jones (+$22M) 3) restructure Trey Smith (+$11M) 4) restructure Creed H (+$9M) 5) restructure Bolton (+$12M) in 5 moves, they could be at ~$51M in cap space
Someone on an espn POD put out the idea of the Chiefs soft tanking nxt year for a top 5 pick. Legit without Mahomes that team is garbage, so pulling a 96-97 Spurs like tank will help them rebuild.
