Texans' Bill O'Brien on Titans game: 'We need to play to win the game'

Texans' Bill O'Brien on Titans game: 'We need to play to win the game'

If the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, the Texans' playoff seeding can't be affected by the outcome of their regular-season finale later that afternoon against the Tennessee Titans.

The Texans would remain the fourth playoff seed in the AFC, regardless of the outcome of their game at NRG Stadium. If the Chiefs lose and the Texans beat the Titans, they would move up to the third seed due to a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Chiefs. The Titans can clinch the sixth seed with a win over the Texans or losses by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts.

The AFC South champions, by virtue of their win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Saturday, will have to weigh the importance of resting injured players, including quarterback Deshaun Watson's apparent right ankle injury, and protecting them for the postseason.

Texans coach Bill O'Brien was adamant Monday that he'll play to win the game no matter what.

"Look, I think anytime we take the field, based on what we're all about, our program and what we're trying to do here and what we've been trying to build for six years, we're about trying to win," O'Brien said. "It's all about the game, it's all about trying to win games. We realize all those things you just said are very important factors to take into relative to where we're at, but we need to play to win the game."