Texans’ Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins active against the Titans in Week 17

With their final seeding still up in the air at the time inactives were announced, the Houston Texans have kept both quarterback Deshaun Watson and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins active for their Week 17 matchup against the Tennessee Titans. While their two biggest superstars will be available, several of the Texans’ starters will not dress for the game.

The reason the Texans’ active players are of importance to the Pittsburgh Steelers is due to the fact the Steelers need help in order to make the 2019 postseason. Should the Tennessee Titans defeat the Houston Texans, the Steelers will have been eliminated from playoff contention.

By the time the Texans kick off in Houston against the Titans, they will know if they have anything to play for to change their seeding for the postseason. Should the Kansas City Chiefs hold on and defeat the Los Angeles Chargers, the Texans will be locked into the fourth seed and will have nothing to play for against the Titans.

Texans’ head coach Bill O’Brien stated earlier in the week that he was playing to win the game in Week 17 and did not plan to rest players. But with several key pieces to the Texans being on the injury report all week, it is not surprising that any player dealing with even a minor injury would sit out in what will most likely be a meaningless game.

It has become the second straight season where the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to get help in order to make the playoffs. While there is a scenario where the Steelers could still lose and make the postseason, nothing that happens against the Ravens will matter if the Titans are victorious.

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