Texans will rest Deshaun Watson DeAndre Hopkins vs. Titans AJ McCarron to start at QB per report

The only way the can move up from the No. 4 Naz Reid Jersey seed in the AFC playoff picture is if they win on Sunday and watch the (5-10) upset the (11-4), who are also playing to either retain or boost their seeding.In other words, it's unlikely. So despite coach Bill O'Brien's insistence throughout the week that the Texans would do everything they can to win their Week 17 rematch with the , including potentially playing starters, the team now intends to rest both quarterback and wide receiver -- among others -- ahead of the postseason.That's , who reported Sunday morning that Watson will serve as the backup to against Tenne see, while Hopkins will be active but limited in snaps. Both big-name players entered the weekend listed as questionable on the Texans' injury report (Watson with a back injury and Hopkins with an illne s), so it was already a po sibility they wouldn't see much time in Sunday's game. A number of other key players, like WR , left tackle and cornerback , are also questionable for the regular-season finale.This should ring as important news for fans of both the Titans and . Tenne see needs to beat the Texans in order to clinch the final spot in the AFC playoff picture, and now it'll have the chance to do so against mostly Texans backups. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, needs both a win against the and a Titans lo s to Houston to make it in, meaning the Steelers will be pulling for McCarron, an old AFC North rival, to help them punch their ticket to the postseason.A backup for the for the first four years of his career, McCarron was once speculated as a succe sor to in Ohio, particularly after a productive three-start stretch in 2015. After landing his first crack at a No. 1 job with the in 2018, however, he was sidelined with a preseason shoulder injury, then traded to the before the start of the season, throwing just three pa ses in relief of throughout the year. The Alabama product has thrown just one pa s backing up Watson in 2019 thus far. Robert Covington Jersey