The Houston Texans’ Week 16 match with the Cleveland Browns will have huge playoff implications,
Both squads are in contention of one of the AFC’s three wildcard spots, though the Browns have a huge edge with a 9-5. The Texans are 8-6 and tied with three other teams, but sit No. 8 in the conference because of tiebreakers with the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals.
Right now, the Texans have a 48 percent chance to make the postseason, according to the New York Times. A win pushes those odds to 71 percent, while a loss drops the probability to 32 percent, all per the Times.
Sumner Sports calculate a similarly-large playoff leverage situation for Houston. The difference between a win and loss for the Texans is 31.1 percent. This number could be boosted even more depending on the outcome of Bengals vs. Steelers and Colts vs. Falcons.
here is the playoff leverage on the line going into week 16*https://t.co/wYLf9J5nmZ pic.twitter.com/4liZk5r3Og
— Tej Seth (@tejfbanalytics) December 21, 2023
The Texans could have a tough matchup with the Browns, who feature a top-two defense and surprisingly-spry Joe Flacco under center. Houston will likely be without quarterback C.J. Stroud again with a concussion, two linebackers and possible wide receiver Nico Collins.
