Officially, NFL playoffs don't start before January 10th. But don't tell the coach about it DeMeco Ryanswhose Houston Texans face to face Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday at SoFi Stadium.
“Right now it's a playoff game against the Chargers,” he said at his weekly news conference Wednesday. “We know they have something to play for. We have something to play for. Otherwise, how would you want it?”
There will certainly be a lot of interesting things to see in Saturday's match. The game features two of the hottest teams in the league. The Chargers (11-4) have won four straight and seven of their last eight and are still in contention for the AFC West title as well as the top overall AFC playoff seed. Meanwhile, the Texans (10-5) are on an NFL-best seven-game winning streak and could clinch a postseason berth with a win or tie (or draw). Colts loss or draw on Sunday with Jaguars). Houston can also win its division, but needs an unlikely loss to Jacksonville this week or next.
But according to SportsLine's Inside the Lines and Projection Model team, the loser of Saturday's game may actually emerge as the winner in the long run.
The winner of Saturday's game has a good chance of becoming the top team in the AFC, if not the division champion. This team will play in the wild card round against the worst division champion, which could be either Steelers (9-6) or Crows (7-8). Meanwhile, the loser of Saturday's game, if the current standings continue, will face either Patriots (12-3) or Jaguars (11-4) on the road.
But the model that imitates each NFL game 10,000 times, Pittsburgh and Baltimore have a power rating superior to New England and Jacksonville.
| AFK rank | Team | Neutral winning percentage |
| 1 | Accounts | 63.10% |
| 2 | Texans | 61.20% |
| 3 | Broncos | 60.60% |
| 4 | Crows | 57.80% |
| 5 | Steelers | 57.10% |
| 6 | Patriots | 56.60% |
| 7 | Jaguars | 56.10% |
| 8 | Chargers | 55.90% |
Los Angeles is a 1.5-point favorite over Houston in the latest odds from DraftKings.
Saturday's game is a rematch of last season's playoff game, which the Texans won 32-12. In that game, Houston intercepted a Chargers quarterback. Justin Herbert four times, which was one more interception than he threw in the entire regular season.
This year, the Texans rank first in the NFL in scoring defense with 16.6 points per game. They'll be up against a makeshift Los Angeles offensive line that won't have any starting tackles.
“This is where you want to be in December,” Ryans says. “You want to play meaningful games and that’s what this team deserves.”
