NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- If the Jan. 1 Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans game amounts to the AFC South title game, will it be the matchup the NFL and NBC choose to flex to Sunday Night Football as the 256th and final game of the regular season?

It will certainly be appealing because the stakes will be so high.

But it could easily come in second as the Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions game is probably going to be for the NFC North title, and that comes with Aaron Rodgers.

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If the Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, no matter what the Lions do Monday night at the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay-Detroit Week 17 game will be for the division title.

That game could see also see the loser qualify as a wild-card entry.

If both are in and it’s just a matter of who’s the division champion and who’s the wild card, it’s not as compelling a scenario to me as an elimination game.

But it still offers more star power than the Texans-Titans will and it's in the NFL's best winter setting.

If the Titans take care of business in Jacksonville on Saturday, their finale against the Texans will be for the division. At this point, the loser making the field as a wild card is far less likely than it would be out of the NFC North game. (This playoff simulator will help you hash out the numerous different possibilities.)

Per the league, “Week 17 start time changes could be decided on 6 days notice to ensure a game with playoff implications.”

We should learn sooner than that.

I wouldn’t bet against Green Bay for the flex.