This marked the first season since 2005 that Rick Smith would not be the general manager as he took a leave of absence for family reasons.

[1] Despite losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16, the Texans clinched a playoff berth after the New Orleans Saints defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers later that day.

The Texans lost in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, 21–7 to their AFC South rival, the Indianapolis Colts.

Running backs (RB) Wide receivers (WR) Tight ends (TE) Defensive linemen (DL) Defensive backs (DB) Special teams Reserve Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Safety Tyrann Mathieu, who signed with the Texans in the offseason, intercepted a Tom Brady pass that was tipped by Angelo Blackson in the 1st quarter.

Rookie wide receiver Keke Coutee made his NFL debut, finishing with 11 receptions for 109 yards.

In a low-scoring defensive battle, the Texans claimed the victory in final minutes when cornerback Johnathan Joseph intercepted a pass from Bills backup quarterback Nathan Peterman and returned it for the game-winning touchdown.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson threw five touchdowns (tying a career high) while only having four incompletions with no interceptions.

The Houston Texans were going for their ninth win in a row against Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns who the week before defeated the Bengals.

Houston rallied from a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to take a one-point lead on a 35-yard touchdown reception by Vyncint Smith with 2:04 remaining in the game.

However, the defense could not stop Philadelphia on the ensuing drive, and the Eagles prevailed 32-30 on a 35-yard field goal by Jake Elliott as time expired.

Houston also failed to clinch the AFC South due to victories by the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts and slipped back to No.

However, the Texans would clinch a playoff berth when the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the New Orleans Saints later that day.

With the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys hosting the Seattle Seahawks Saturday evening, it was also the first time in league history that two NFL playoff games were played in Texas on the same day.