The LA Chargers have locked up a spot in the NFL Playoffs with Week 18 all about the team's seeding. Los Angeles is currently the sixth seed in the AFC and can move up to the fifth seed with the right outcomes.
The Chargers need to win and need the Pittsburgh Steelers to lose to become the fifth seed. Making this leap is imperative for the Bolts, who would much rather play the Houston Texans than the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wild-Card Round.
Houston is very beatable (as evidenced by the team's 31-2 loss on Christmas to the Ravens) and will be without two of the team's top pass-catchers with both Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell injured. These injuries don't seem to be fazing the Texans, though, as the team is gearing up to play its starters in a completely meaningless Week 18 game against the Tennessee Titans.
#Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said current plan for #Titans game is to have everyone ready to play that can go @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/hWWeFzPC7g
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) December 30, 2024
Texnas making same mistake Chargers did in 2022 before NFL Playoffs
Win, lose, or draw the Texans are locked into the fourth seed in the AFC. There is no benefit in winning this game other than to get some momentum before the playoffs after such an awful loss to the Ravens last week.
The Chargers found themselves in a similar situation in 2022. With absolutely nothing to play for, Brandon Staley still decided to play the starters and keep them in the game for an extended amount of time.
Mike Williams suffered a back injury in the game and did not play against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Wild-Card Round. The Chargers blew a 27-0 lead in a game that could have been much different if Williams was able to play.
The Chargers at least had the excuse of not knowing the game was meaningless until minutes before kickoff. Staley still could have pulled his starters once it was official, but there was not an entire week of build-up. Houston has every chance in the world to get this right, and the team still might get it wrong.
It is worth noting the Chargers will be playing their starters if the Steelers lose in Week 18. However, it is still unclear what the team will do if Pittsburgh wins on Saturday.
Nothing may come of this and the Texans might ride into the playoffs with no new injuries. But if the team suffers any injury of note this decision will be dissected to the end, just like Staley's decision was dissected years ago.
It might not even impact the Chargers either way. Los Angeles needs to take care of business against the Las Vegas Raiders and needs the Cincinnati Bengals to beat the Steelers.