Texans clinch AFC No. 5 seed with win over Colts

The Texans are the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs.

Although Houston benched its starters midway through today's game once Jacksonville had secured the AFC South title, Houston's backups did enough to pull out a 38-30 win over Indianapolis today. It was a back-and-forth battle that saw the Texans take a 32-30 lead with a field goal with 12 seconds left — and then add a defensive touchdown on the last play of the game.

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Today's win ensured that the Texans will be the fifth seed in the AFC — and benching the starters ensured that they'll be healthy next week when the playoffs start.

The Texans will open the playoffs on the road next weekend against the winner of tonight's Ravens-Steelers game.

The Colts had nothing to play for, but they were surprisingly effective, thanks to a very good game from rookie quarterback Riley Leonard in the first start of his career. Leonard completed 20 of 33 passes for 278 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception, and also ran the ball three times for 21 yards and a touchdown.

Leonard's strong play today will raise questions about why the Colts brought in Philip Rivers after starting quarterback Daniel Jones was lost for the season with an Achilles injury. Although Rivers played well by the standards of a 44-year-old who hadn't played football in five years, he didn't play well enough for the Colts to win any of the games he started. Leonard might have been able to play well enough to win games and keep the Colts in playoff contention — and at the very least, playing Leonard would have helped the Colts develop and evaluate a young quarterback who might be part of the future of the franchise.

But the quarterback questions facing the Colts are for next season. The Texans still have things to do this season, starting with a playoff opener against the winner of the AFC North.