In the right place

KIRKLAND –The Houston Texans probably won’t be heading to the NFL playoffs this season. They might be responsible for getting the Seattle Seahawks there, however.

The Texans’ birth in 2002 led the NFL to realign into eight four-team divisions. The Seahawks left the AFC for the NFC, where their 6-4 record carries some credibility.

This isn’t one of those if-the-season-ended-today ventures. Six games remain for each team and the possible scenarios are many.

But where would the Seahawks be without the Texans? Chasing the San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs, probably.

Five teams in the AFC are 7-3 or better. The Chiefs are 6-4 thanks to a victory over Seattle. They stand third in the AFC West – Seattle’s home from 1977 through 2001 – and seventh in the conference.

Six teams in each conference receive playoff berths.

Even with Seattle’s loss to San Francisco on Sunday, the Seahawks remained third in the NFC race.

They lead the NFC West by a game and their remaining schedule features three home games, one of which is against a winning team (San Diego), and two road games against losing teams. Seattle plays another road game against 7-3 Denver in two weeks.

Chicago is running away with the NFC at 9-1, putting the Bears in prime position to secure home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. That’s significant for the Seahawks because the home-field edge helped them get to Super Bowl XL last season.

Seattle is one of five NFC teams at 6-4.

The 6-4 New York Giants are struggling, but they stand second in the NFC because the league breaks three-way ties on conference record, not head-to-head results. Seattle’s 42-30 victory over the Giants would only matter in a head-to-head tiebreaker.

Of the five teams at 6-4, Seattle, Carolina and the Giants are leading their divisions. That gives them an edge over the remaining 6-4 contenders. Seattle and Carolina do not play each other, but the Seahawks have the better conference mark.

New Orleans and Dallas sit in the wild-card spots for now, in that order.

Extra points

The Seahawks hold full practices today, Thursday and Friday, with a shorter session scheduled for Saturday and a walkthrough Sunday. … ESPN is carrying their Monday night game against Green Bay, Seattle’s second Monday night game in four weeks. … Darrell Jackson leads the NFL with eight receiving touchdowns. Five players have seven: Reggie Wayne, Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens, Marques Colston and Torry Holt. … Deion Branch is coming off his first 100-yard receiving game as a Seahawk. … Julian Peterson has gone two consecutive games without a sack for the first time this season. … The Seahawks have 10 players with at least two sacks, most in the NFL. The team ranks second in sacks overall (35). … Seattle leads the NFL in first-quarter scoring with 76 points. The Seahawks have 28 third-quarter points. Four teams have fewer: Washington (24), Houston (24), Buffalo (23) and Oakland (11).