Who will Texans play next? Divisional round opponent set for Houston
The Houston Texans entered their wild-card matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers as home underdogs. They proved that label was unearned in a 32-12 thrashing of the Chargers.
The Texans defense played one of its finest games of the entire season. After surrendering six points on the first two drives of the game, the unit managed to significantly limit Justin Herbert until the fourth quarter of the contest.
Houston got plenty of pressure on Herbert throughout the game, sacking the quarterback four times. More importantly, they forced him into four interceptions – more than Herbert's three total from the entire 2024 NFL season – because of the pressure that Will Anderson (1.5 sacks) and Co. put on Herbert. That included an Eric Murray pick-six that allowed the Texans to open up a 14-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, C.J. Stroud and the Texans offense struggled in the first half and nearly entered the locker room without scoring a point. However, on a critical third-and-16 from their own 17-yard line with just over two minutes remaining in the first half, Stroud managed to pick up a botched snap and scramble out to his right before finding Xavier Hutchinson for a 34-yard gain.
That sparked a 99-yard touchdown drive that gave the Texans their first lead of the game. They never trailed again, scoring 23 unanswered points to earn the win.
Stroud now has won a playoff game in each of his first two seasons and will have a chance to play his way into the AFC championship game.
Who will the Texans play next in the 2025 NFL playoffs? Here's what to know about the divisional round bracket and the opponent Houston will face.
Who will Texans play next?
The Texans are set to face the No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
The Texans originally had four potential opponents after winning their wild-card matchup against the Chargers. That was narrowed to two after the Baltimore Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Buffalo Bills' win over the Denver Broncos cemented Houston's status as the lowest-ranked team remaining in the playoff field.
That's what set the Texans up for a divisional round date with the Chiefs.
This will mark the second meeting between the Texans and Chiefs this season. They first met in Week 16, when Kansas City earned a 27-19 victory over Houston in a tightly contested game. Patrick Mahomes played well in the contest despite recovering from a sprained ankle on a short week while the Texans lost starting receiver Tank Dell to a gruesome injury during the contest.
Updated NFL playoff bracket
AFC playoff bracket
Below is a look at the AFC playoff bracket with the conference's three wild card games officially in the books:
- 1. Kansas City Chiefs vs. 4. Houston Texans
- 2. Buffalo Bills vs. 3. Baltimore Ravens
NFC playoff bracket
Below is a look at how the NFC playoff bracket looks entering play on Sunday.
- 1. Detroit Lions
- 2. Philadelphia Eagles vs. 7. Green Bay Packers
- 3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. 6. Washington Commanders
- 4. Los Angeles Rams vs. 5. Minnesota Vikings
None of the NFC playoff games will be played until Sunday, but the Eagles vs. Packers game is the first of the bunch. The conference's playoff scenarios will become clear after that contest.