If the Texans win today and the Jaguars lose, the Texans win the AFC South. But early on, things aren’t looking good for Houston.
Colts quarterback Riley Leonard hit Alec Pierce on a 66-yard touchdown pass to give Indianapolis a 7-3 lead over Houston.
The Texans marched down the field on their opening possession on an eight-play, 37-yard drive that ended with a field goal and a 3-0 Houston lead, but that lead didn’t last long.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars are losing 7-0 to the Titans.
On a day of scoreboard watching across the NFL, the Houston fans are happy to see that Jaguars score. But not so happy to see the Colts score an early touchdown on their defense.
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The Falcons had a handful of key players listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Saints, but the Panthers will be glad to hear that all of them are in the lineup.
Wide receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Darnell Mooney, and cornerback A.J. Terrell will all play in Atlanta’s final game of the season. London, Pitts, and Mooney have knee injuries while Terrell was added to the report on Saturday with an illness.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins, defensive lineman David Onyemata, and linebacker Ronnie Harrison were also added to the report due to illness on Sunday. Harrison is the only one who will miss the game.
The result of the Falcons-Saints game will determine the NFC South champion. A Falcons win gives the Panthers the title while a Saints road victory will give the Bucs their fourth straight division crown.
Saints at Falcons
Saints: S Ugo Amadi, QB Spencer Rattler, WR Chris Olave, RB Alvin Kamara, OT Xavier Truss, DT Bryan Bresee, DT Nathan Shepherd
Falcons: P Trenton Gill, LB Ronnie Harrison, DL Brandon Dorlus, OL Michael Jerrell, WR Casey Washington, WR Malik Heath
Colts at Texans
Colts: CB Sauce Gardner, DT Eric Johnson, S Reuben Lowery, TE Will Mallory, S George Odum, QB Philip Rivers
Texans: WR Nico Collins, OT Trent Brown, RB Nick Chubb, WR Braxton Berrios, QB Graham Mertz, LB Jamal Hill, CB Kamari Lassiter
Cowboys at Giants
Cowboys: LB DeMarvion Overshown, CB Shavon Revel, S Alijah Clark, DT Jay Toia, DT Perrion Winfrey
Giants: S Jevon Holland, WR Ryan Miller, WR Jalin Hyatt, RB Dante Miller, LB Caleb Murphy, TE Theo Johnson, QB Russell Wilson
Browns at Bengals
Browns: TE Harold Fannin Jr., OT Jeremiah Byers, C Kingsley Eguakun, WR Jamari Thrash, TE David Njoku, DT Sam Kamara
Bengals: QB Jake Browning, WR Charlie Jones, CB Josh Newton, S Daijahn Anthony, DE Joseph Ossai, TE Cam Grandy, DT Jordan Jefferson
Packers at Vikings
Packers: QB Malik Willis, LB Quay Walker, RB Josh Jacobs, WR Dontayvion Wicks, S Xavier McKinney, OT Zach Tom, LB Edgerrin Cooper
Vikings: WR Myles Price, QB John Wolford, CB Dwight McGlothern, QB Brett Rypien, RB Aaron Jones, OL Walter Rouse, TE T.J. Hockenson
Titans at Jaguars
Titans: S Amani Hooker, EDGE Arden Key, OL Drew Moss, OL Garrett Dellinger, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Gunnar Helm
Jaguars: CB Keith Taylor, OL Patrick Mekari, TE Hunter Long, TE Patrick Herbert, DL Emmanuel Ogbah, DT Maason Smith
The Texans know that they will be playing a postseason game next weekend, but where they’ll be playing it and as what seed remains up in the air in Week 18.
It appears that they are prioritizing being at full strength for that playoff game over having all hands on deck against the Colts on Sunday, however. Jane Slater of NFL Media reports that wide receiver Nico Collins will not play against Indianapolis.
Collins was on the injury report this week, but it was due to rest rather than a physical ailment. Collins does not have an injury designation for the game.
Jayden Higgins, Christian Kirk, Jaylin Noel, Xavier Hutchinson, Justin Watson, and Braxton Berrios are the other receivers for Houston.
The Texans will win the AFC South if they beat the Colts and the Jaguars lose to the Titans. A win and a Jaguars win would make them the fifth seed while a loss could land the Texans in any of the three wild card spots.
The recent Philip Rivers unretirement may have been the beginning, not the end.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that “teams have been doing research” on the soon-to-be-former-for-the-second-time Colts quarterback as a head-coaching candidate. In the current cycle.
Rivers could get, per the report, one or more interviews.
Rapoport adds that it’s not the first time teams have kicked the tires on Rivers. Previously, he had not been willing to engage.
There’s no reason to think he will now. Rivers has said he’ll coach his son’s football team in 2026. And his son is going to be a senior.
It puts Rivers in a similar posture to former NFL tight end Jason Witten. Some throughout the league believe Witten is destined to eventually become a head coach — possibly with the Cowboys. For now, though, he’s coaching his son in high school.
Rivers could eventually make a Jeff Saturday-style leap to NFL head coaching with no coaching experience at the college or pro level. For Rivers, his 17 years (plus three games) of playing experience at the game’s most important position gives him a built-in advantage.
Few former high-level starting quarterbacks become NFL head coaches. Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, who had 140 NFL starts at quarterback and is in the Colts’ Ring of Honor, is an exception. (Better known as a coach at this point, Harbaugh was a Pro Bowler and got a pair of MVP votes in 1995.) Harbaugh worked his way up as a coach, however, from Raiders quarterbacks coach to head coach at the University of San Diego to head coach at Stanford before becoming head coach of the 49ers a decade after playing in his last NFL game.
Five of 26 Hall of Fame quarterbacks became head coaches: Sammy Baugh, Bob Waterfield, Norm Van Brocklin, Otto Graham, and Bart Starr. None finished their coaching careers above .500.
No franchise quarterbacks in the post-merger era of pro football have become NFL head coaches. Most simply don’t need the money, which likely makes them unwilling to embrace the grind of working for not much pay (relative to their career earnings) through the various layers and levels of the profession before emerging with the top job.
John Elway, of course, became the G.M. of the Broncos. But he never worked as a scout, hopscotching the country and grinding prospect tape in anonymity before positioning himself to get one of the top jobs.
Rivers has made more than $244 million as a quarterback. Would he take a quarterbacks coach assignment, with the goal of becoming an offensive coordinator and then, when the planets align, a head coach? Or would he be far more interested, if at all, in becoming a head coach or nothing at all?
Josh McCown, who was a finalist for the Texans’ head-coaching job in 2022 after a 16-year playing career with 76 starts, is in his third year as a quarterbacks coach — one with Carolina, two with Minnesota.
Jim Zorn, with 106 career starts, became an assistant coach in the late 1980s and eventually coached Washington for two seasons. (Zorn got three MVP votes in 1978.)
Rivers would be the rare exception, as it relates to true franchise quarterbacks who made many millions on the field, to enter the NFL coaching profession. And, like Elway, Rivers may be able to bypass the preliminary jobs and go straight to running the show.
For now, Rivers is reportedly on the radar screen.
The Colts will be starting rookie Riley Leonard at quarterback against the Texans in Week 18 and they’ll have a new backup in uniform for the game as well.
The team announced that they have elevated Seth Henigan from the practice squad to the active roster for the season finale. Henigan signed with the team earlier this week.
Henigan has never appeared in a regular season game. He signed with the Jaguars after going undrafted this year and opened the season on their practice squad.
Philip Rivers remains on the roster and will serve as the emergency third quarterback after starting the last three games for the Colts. The Colts lost those games and were eliminated from playoff contention over that span.
The Colts also announced that they have elevated tight end Sean McKeon from the practice squad.
The Texans ruled out cornerback Kamari Lassiter (knee/ankle) for Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Colts.
The Texans need a win and a Jaguars’ loss to the Titans to clinch the AFC South title.
Lassiter has played through an ankle issue but injured his knee in last week’s win over the Chargers. He still played 56 of 63 defensive snaps.
The Pro Bowl alternate has four interceptions, 17 pass breakups and 91 tackles.
The Texans also ruled out linebacker Jamal Hill (calf).
They list offensive tackle Trent Brown (ankle/knee), cornerback Ajani Carter (hamstring) and defensive end Darrell Taylor (ankle) as questionable.
Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (knee/shoulder), defensive end Denico Autry (knee) and cornerback Derek Stingley (oblique) have no injury designation.
As it turns out, the Colts will not have one of their top defensive players when they play their season finale on Sunday.
Indianapolis has ruled out cornerback Sauce Gardner for Week 18, head coach Shane Steichen told reporters on Friday.
Gardner returned to play Indianapolis’ loss to Jacksonville in Week 17, and was on the field for 51 percent of the defensive snaps. After experiencing some tightness in the calf, Gardner was held out for the rest of the contest. He had previously been out since suffering his calf injury in the Nov. 30 loss to the Texans.
The Colts traded for Gardner on Nov. 4. He started four games for the club this season, recording 16 total tackles with three passes defensed.
Additionally, Indianapolis has ruled out tight end Will Mallory (lung) for Week 18.
Center Tanor Bortolini has cleared concussion protocol.
The Giants fired Brian Daboll on Nov. 10 after the club started 2-8, leaving Daboll with a 20-40-1 record.
Now as the 2025 regular season comes to its conclusion, New York’s coaching search is starting to take shape with the club casting a wide net.
Jordan Raanan of ESPN reports the Giants’ list of candidates includes former Packers and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, former Raiders head coach and former Giants player Antonio Pierce, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, and Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula.
While owners John Mara and Steve Tisch will make the final decision on the next coach, the search is being led by General Manager Joe Schoen.
Schoen’s presence is not expected to hamper candidates’ interest in the job, Raanan notes.
Raanan also lists interim head coach Mike Kafka, Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Vikings QBs coach Josh McCown, and Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski as potential candidates for the job.
As for current head coaches, Raanan lists the entire slate in the AFC North — Cleveland’s Kevin Stefanski, Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, Baltimore’s John Harbaugh, and Cincinnati’s Zac Taylor — as candidates, with Stefanski as “a name to watch” who could attract “serious interest” should he be fired.
The Giants can interview candidates who are not currently with teams now, including McCarthy and Pierce.
Philip Rivers came out of retirement to quarterback the Colts this season, but he says there’s no chance of that happening again.
Rivers says he is definitely done playing and will be coaching his sons’ high school team in 2026.
“I’ve got a son that will be a senior,” Rivers told Kay Adams. “It’ll be his senior year and I’m looking forward to it. My second son will be a ninth grader so they’ll be on the same team together, so it’ll be fun to get back.”
Rivers said the unique circumstances surrounding Colts coach Shane Steichen calling him for a late-season run will never be repeated.
“There’s no chance,” Rivers said. “It was a place I’d been, a team I was familiar with, the offense was exactly the same, a coach I knew, it was all those things, our football season was over, all those things made it the perfect storm.”
Rivers insists he’ll be coaching, not playing, going forward.
“I’m back to the sideline,” Rivers said. “This was a fun three-week blur that nobody saw coming, including myself. And that’ll be it.”
Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson will not be activated from injured reserve for the team’s Week 18 game, which means his third NFL season will end with him on injured reserve due to an orbital fracture he suffered in October.
Richardson had appeared in two games as a reserve before that injury, but neither the missed time nor losing a preseason competition with Daniel Jones for the starting job has dimmed Richardson’s confidence in his capabilities.
“Oh, yeah,” Richardson said, via Stephen Holder of ESPN.com. “No doubt. If I’ve still got a chance to play football, then it’s all out there.”
It’s fair to wonder if that future will be in Indianapolis. If the Colts re-sign Jones this offseason, they’ll likely plan for him to start once he’s cleared to return from a torn Achilles and Richardson will be in the last year of his contract with a team that has clearly moved in a different direction. A trade could be a possibility, but he also missed most of his rookie season with a shoulder injury and his limited on-field work has not done much to make him look like the franchise quarterback the Colts hoped to get at the top of the 2023 draft.
