The Texans have accepted that the Jaguars are going to win the AFC South.
To win the division, Houston needed both to beat Indianapolis today and for Jacksonville to lose to Tennessee. But with Jacksonville beating Tennessee 31-7 in the third quarter, Houston decided to pull its most important players, concede the division to Jacksonville, and start getting ready for the wild card round.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is out of the game, replaced by backup Davis Mills. And other key players on the Texans have gone to the sideline as well.
The Texans still have wild card seeding to play for, and beating the Colts today would guarantee the Texans the No. 5 seed. But Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has apparently decided that keeping his key players healthy is more important than improving his wild card seed.
And so the Texans have decided to prioritize staying healthy for next week over winning this week.
