Indeed, feeling relevant again on schedule release is a bit foreign for us here in Houston. After all, consider the following:
1. The last Monday Night Football game the Texans played was all the way back in Week 1 of the 2019 season, a road loss in New Orleans.
2. The last Sunday Night Football game the Texans played was in Week 13, also in 2019, a win over the New England Patriots.
3. From Week 10, 2022 through Week 17, 2023, the Texans played 25 — TWENTY FIVE!! — straight Noon Central Time, Sunday kickoffs. That has to be a record.
Welcome back to relevance, Texans fans! These are the times that are good! So that that in mind, here we go. Here is the most anticipated regular season schedule in Houston Texans history:
WEEK 1: at INDIANAPOLIS, 9/8Okay, let's go, four thoughts on what is going to be a fun, 18 week journey this season:
WEEK 2: vs CHICAGO, 9/15 (SNF)
WEEK 3: at MINNESOTA, 9/22
WEEK 4: vs JACKSONVILLE, 9/29
WEEK 5: vs BUFFALO, 10/6
WEEK 6: at NEW ENGLAND, 10/13
WEEK 7: at GREEN BAY, 10/20
WEEK 8: vs COLTS, 10/27
WEEK 9: at NY JETS, 10/31 (TNF)
WEEK 10: vs DETROIT, 11/10 (SNF)
WEEK 11: at DALLAS, 11/18 (MNF)
WEEK 12: vs TENNESSEE, 11/24
WEEK 13: at JACKSONVILLE, 12.1
WEEK 14: BYE
WEEK 15: vs MIAMI, 12/15
WEEK 16: at KANSAS CITY, 12/21
WEEK 17: vs BALTIMORE, 12/25 (Netflix)
WEEK 18: at TENNESSEE, 1/5
Bye week placement
DeMeco Ryans says that the first thing he looks at when the schedule comes out is the bye week. The best case is that it comes right in the middle of the season. That did not happen for the Houston Texans. Instead, the NFL decided to torpedo their Christmas holiday with three games in 11 days, and thus, the Texans' bye week comes right before an unforgiving gauntlet in the middle of December. Which brings us to.....
That Christmas season gauntlet is freaking insane
If you're familiar with this space, then you know one of my key wishes for this schedule was for the Texans to avoid being one of the four teams chosen to play on Christmas Day. As you can see above, that wish was not granted by the football gods. Not only will the Texans be playing on Christmas Day, but they will be playing the Baltimore Ravens. Additionally, the short week prior to this game, they will play the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on the road. Additionally, they will play the Miami Dolphins the week before the Chiefs game. Add it all up, and the Texans are playing the Dolphins, Chiefs, and Ravens over the course of 11 days. Yikes.
Texans and Cowboys, Monday Night Football, need I say more?
One other Pendergast wish that that schedule makers ignored — the Texans and the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington on Thanksgiving Day. That did not happen. However, we probably got the next best thing with a Monday Night Football game a couple weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday. As Monday night games go, this one will be chock full of storylines. You have the two Diggs brothers facing off, you have C.J. Stroud and Micah Parsons (the comedy team of the 2020s) facing off, and the general geographic angst that Houstonians have with Dallas. This will be fun?
So, what's the prediction, as of May 16?
Even with all of the top flight quarterbacks, even with the holiday season gauntlet, I think this Texans team has improved the roster enough and garnered enough relevant experience to improve over last season. Give me 11-6, another AFC South title, and the three seed in the AFC. Let's go!
Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.
