The Day After The Day After: The schedule for the 2024-25 Houston Texans

48 hours later…what do we think of the upcoming schedule?

The NFL officially released the regular season (and preseason) schedules for the 2024-25 season this past Wednesday. Strategic leaks dominated the news beforehand, but it all went official Wednesday night. You found plenty of instant hot takes following the release of the schedule, as we are an instant-hot-take society. Yet, using the benefit of time to let the proverbial (or literal) hangover dissipate, here are some (allegedly) more thought-out takes on the upcoming schedule for the Texans:

• Prime Time Texans: For a team that went the better part of three seasons without any real primetime matchups, they are making up for lost time. From only three “prime time” regular season games since 2021 (and one was the Week 18 flexed to primetime Texans @ Colts tilt) to now six (yes, SIX) nationally televised games. The team makes its return to Sunday Night and Monday Night Football for the first times since 2019, and its return to Amazon Prime for the 1st time since October 2022. They will even be a part of history when they get a rematch with the Ravens (at NRG this time) on Christmas Day, courtesy of Netflix. That’s a whole lotta exposure for a team that has mainly lived in the NFL shadows this decade. Hope the squad is up for the challenge.
• Why the National Obsession with Houston vs. NFC North Teams?: There isn’t a lot of history between the Texans and NFC North squads. Given that they are in different conferences, their matchups are not all that frequent. Yet, of the Texans’ six nationally televised games, two are against the NFC North on Sunday Nights. Granted, the appeal of a matchup against Chicago in Week 2 (Williams vs. Stroud) is apparent and the tilt with the up-and-coming Lions offers a potential future Super Bowl type-matchup, but it is just odd that of all the primetime matchups, Houston logs two with the NFC North and zero with division and playoff contending rivals Jacksonville and/or Indianapolis.
• Dallas Coming to Houston = Prime Time. Houston Coming to Dallas = Meh?: For the 3rd time in four Dallas meetings, their matchup is worthy of primetime (this time on a Monday Night). Interestingly enough, none of the Texans’ treks to Dallas are considered prime-time worthy. Does the Dallas/Houston matchup only matter when it comes to Houston? Ok, there are some other factors to consider, but you might be forgiven for thinking that is only when it matters for a national audience. Still think the NFL missed a golden opportunity to make the battle for Texas a Thanksgiving affair, especially with A&M/UT happening that same weekend. Apparently, the NFL went ratings chasing by letting the Cowboys host the Giants (as that got the biggest Thanksgiving Day ratings of all time in 2022).
• The Nightmare Before Christmas (and on Christmas)…or a Holiday to Remember?: Speaking of the nationally televised games, two of those matchups will happen within five days of each other. A Saturday matchup at the home of the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs of Taylor Swift followed by the Xmas duel at NRG vs the Ravens that pounded the Texans by a combined 59-19 last year. This coming after the Texans face off against the ever dangerous Miami Dolphins at NRG. No small understatement to say that these 10 days might decide the fate of the Texans’ season. Three playoff contenders who may all be jockeying for divisional crowns and/or that 1st round bye. The depth that Caserio built up in the draft will definitely come into play for this stretch. The odds are somewhat leveled with both the Chiefs and Ravens on the same short schedule, but the team that wins in this stretch may do so not so much by talent, but by endurance and depth.
• Late season bye: Coming into that satanic stretch of December games, the Texans will get the benefit of a bye in Week 14. This is the latest that the Texans have ever received a bye. I guess the league gave them a slight breather, but given what they will face in December, that is the least they could do. For reference, the Texans bye weeks the past few seasons fell in the 1st half/midway point of the season. The team is not going to get time to make a lot of in-season adjustments if they struggle any.
• Strength and Conditioning Team will Need Their “A” Game This Season: Given the nature of the schedule, with multiple short weeks slated, to include the aforementioned demonic 10-day December stretch, the Strength and Conditioning team will need its greatest season in that organization’s history. Especially if the Texans plan to make the long run from September to February, the roster needs to be in the best shape possible. The NFL is all about talent, but it is as much about surviving the expected attrition as it is outplaying the opposition.
• An OCD-approved schedule: If you want a symmetric balance between home and away games for the schedule, we have the line-up for you. The schedule starts: Away, Home, Away, Home, Home, Away, Away, and then ends with home and away games alternating every week. Fun balance, no? Sure, there is the 17-game thing to throw things off, but at least it is a fairly consistent formula.

As we get closer to the start of the season, more will come out about how we expect the team to do, and what we expect the record to be. Meanwhile, if timing and resources are in your favor, start making those plans to attend in person. At the very least, start setting up all of those streaming subscriptions you will need to watch the games in a few months.