The Houston Texans play a crucial game in the AFC playoff picture on Thursday Night Football in Week 12.
It's the 5-5 Texans against the 6-3 Buffalo Bills. Houston enters the week one spot out of the AFC Wild Card, while the Bills hold the No. 5 seed in the conference currently. It could have big tiebreaker implications.
The Texans were likely hoping to have starting QB C.J. Stroud back. He has already missed two games with a concussion.
That hasn't come to pass, though.
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Is C.J. Stroud playing tonight?
No, Stroud is not playing against the Bills on Thursday night.
He hasn't yet made it through concussion protocol in time to suit up.
The Texans will be missing their third-year QB for a third consecutive game.
The good news is that backup Davis Mills has led Houston to wins in each of the last two games to get back to .500 on the season.
The task is tougher on Thursday against the Josh Allen-led Bills. But at least the Texans are at home, where they'll have a chance to pull an upset and plant themselves even more firmly in the playoff picture.
Houston gets the mini-bye that comes after a Thursday game, which should help Stroud work his way back soon.
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