After 15 weeks of play, the Houston Texans (9-5) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4) are in the home stretch of their race for the AFC South. Each team has three games left before the postseason begins, and both teams have no intention of letting go the rope just yet. 

Jacksonville currently occupies the driver's seat in the division, with Houston trailing closely behind by only one game. The Texans have won their last six games in a row, and now get their chance for a seventh against the Las Vegas Raiders (2-12) at NRG Stadium this Sunday. 

If they are indeed successful in acquiring their 10th win of the season, that would tie them with the Jaguars in the win column before the 3:05 p.m. slate of NFL games. That's where they would need some help from a mutual friend from the AFC West in the Denver Broncos. 

You see, the Broncos and Jaguars play one another this Sunday from Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado. With the #1 seed in the AFC on the line, the Broncos have every incentive to take the game seriously and secure their 13th win. Since that's the case, Jacksonville could be in line for a loss, and with that would also come a relinquishing of the AFC South division lead (at least for a week). 

That would happen because of a number of tiebreakers that would take effect as soon as the two teams find themselves with the same exact record at 10-5. They include:

1. Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs).

2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.

3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games.

4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.

5. Strength of victory in all games.

6. Strength of schedule in all games

Houston and Jacksonville have split the season series, and have performed the same in almost every schedule-based statistical category. Thus, it would most likely come down to strength of victory and strength of schedule to be the determining factors for these two ball clubs. 

At the moment, the Texans lead Jacksonville .460 to .429 in strength of victory, while also having faced the fourth hardest schedule compared to Jacksonville's 13th-hardest mark. 

All that to say, Houston could leave this Sunday with the AFC South divisional lead and all the momentum heading into the final two weeks against the Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts, who are both compromised teams. They would then have to complete the nine-game sweep of the back end of their schedule in order to finalize the playoff standings in their favor (Chargers and Colts). 

Jacksonville would then only be able to watch, as their ambitions for an AFC South crown would evaporate just like their 29-10 lead did in Houston in week 10. 

Those perfect set of circumstances would catapult Houston from the seventh seed to the third seed, putting them in line to possibly face the Buffalo Bills in a rematch of week 12. 

It all starts against the Raiders this Sunday, though. One game at a time, one moment at a time. 

Do you think the Texans can take the AFC South from the Jaguars? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section and on the official Texans Roundtable X account, @Texans!