Neither the Houston Texans nor Tennessee Titans have a winning record and both clubs may be faced with the prospect of starting backup quarterbacks for Sunday's contest. But astonishingly, one of them is in position to make the playoffs.
NFL picks and predictions, Texans vs. Titans 2015: Houston favored to get above .500
Despite cycling through four quarterbacks this season, the Texans are in position to win the AFC South and secure a winning record.
If the season ended today, the 7-7 Texans would win the AFC South and host a playoff game in the wild card round. That's despite cycling through three different starting quarterbacks this year -- and potentially a fourth if Brandon Weeden gets the start Sunday.
Houston signed Weeden last month just one day after the Dallas Cowboys released him. Weeden took over for T.J. Yates in the Texans' 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts last week after Yates tore his ACL. Weeden completed 11 of 18 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown pass in relief of Yates and is poised to get the start Sunday if Brian Hoyer isn't cleared to play after suffering a concussion against the New England Patriots in Week 14. On Wednesday, Hoyer was cleared to practice on a limited basis, but he's still in concussion protocol.
Whichever quarterback gets the start has a tough matchup against the Titans, who have the ninth-best pass defense in the league. Houston, meanwhile, has the 18th-ranked passing attack in the league despite having star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
The Texans struggle to put points up on the board, but fortunately for them the Titans do as well. Houston is 27th in points scored and Tennessee is 28th.
The Titans will be playing the remainder of the season without starting quarterback Marcus Mariota, who suffered an MCL sprain against the Patriots last week. Zach Mettenberger will get the start in his place, but has the misfortune of facing off against the No. 4 defense in the league.
Sunday’s tilt between these two offensively challenged clubs should be a low-scoring affair, but most experts expect the Texans to come away with the victory. The CBS Sports panel is unanimously backing Houston, while here at SB Nation, six of our eight analysts think the Texans will get above the .500 mark.
| Week 16 | Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | Matt Ufford | PFT Commenter | OddsShark |
| HOU vs TEN | TEN | HOU | HOU | HOU | TEN | HOU | HOU | HOU |
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