HOUSTON – With only five weeks of regular season games left, 30 NFL teams find themselves still harboring playoff and championship aspirations. The scale of the aspirations vary, as some only exist in the “mathematical” realm, but they still exist. With the weather growing chiller and the nights longer, the intensity and pressure increases for those teams. It can make for intense viewing, but also for increased stress for all concerned.
For the Houston Texans, however, the pressure is off. By virtue of back-to-back clinching of the first NFL team eliminated from playoff consideration, beating the Chicago Bears to that designation, the team can focus on other things.