Colts-Titans match flexed to Sunday Night Football on Dec 30

With a playoff spot on the line in a likely win-or-go-home scenario, the Week 17 game between the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans in Nashville will be the Sunday Night Football regular-season finale on Dec. 30.

The NFL announced early in the Sunday night game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks which game the league was flexing into the final slot.

With the Titans beating Washington 25-16 on Saturday and the Colts edging the New York Giants 28-27 on Sunday, both AFC South teams are 9-6 through 15 games. With the Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers both clinching playoff berths out of the AFC West, only one wild-card slot remains.

The Houston Texans, who currently lead the AFC South at 10-5, also have a playoff spot locked up. But with the Texans' last-second loss in Philadelphia on Sunday, a Houston loss next Sunday at home against Jacksonville would give the Titans-Colts winner the division.

Either way, the team that loses the Sunday night finale is out of the playoffs.

According to numerous reports (though the NFL has yet to post official Week 17 scenarios), both the Colts and Titans could end up outside of the playoff picture if Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati in Week 17 and Indianapolis and Tennessee tie in their game. That would force a three-way tie for the final wild-card spot at 9-6-1 which, per those multiple reports, would put the Steelers into the playoffs based on numerous tiebreakers.

If the Titans and Colts tie but the Steelers lose to the Bengals in the afternoon, the Colts would advance to the playoffs by virtue of beating the Titans earlier this season.