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Yesterday, we mentioned that if the playoffs started now, the Indianapolis Colts would host the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round, and that still remains true today. The Houston Texans, however, have closed the gap with the Colts thanks to a 10-6 win over the previously unbeaten Bengals on Monday Night Football.
In fact, the Colts and the Texans now have the exact same record atop the AFC South, as both teams are 4-5. The Jaguars are only one game out of that tie with a 3-6 record, while the Titans are at 2-7. The Colts hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with all three of those teams currently, meaning that despite the Colts and Texans having identical records, the Colts are still technically in first place.
In week five, the Matt Hasselbeck-led Colts defeated the Texans on the road on Thursday Night Football 27-20, which is the reason the Colts are still in first place currently. The two teams will face each other once again later this year, in week 15 game in Indianapolis that could end up being a big one in the AFC South race.
The Colts have a lighter second-half schedule than the Texans do, however, as the combined record of the Colts' remaining opponents is 29-35 (.453) as opposed to the combined record of the Texans' remaining opponents, which is 32-32 (.500). The Texans still have to play the undefeated Patriots, two teams contending for a playoff spot in the Jets and the Bills, and a Saints team with Drew Brees at quarterback. The Colts have tough games against the Falcons and the Steelers, but those are the only two games against teams with winning records.
Regardless, at this point in time the AFC South is a pretty close race to see who will win the worst division in football. The Colts and the Texans are tied at 4-5 atop the division with seven games to go, and it will be interesting to see whether the Colts can pull it off. They're turning their playoff hopes over to quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, but he should be capable enough to help Indy get to the postseason.