HOUSTON – How dramatically the Houston Texans have ascended in the NFL pecking order will be on full display Wednesday night when the league unveils its full regular-season schedule.
The Texans had zero primetime games a year ago, except for a flexed night game against the Indianapolis Colts that clinched the division title and a playoff spot.
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And the defending AFC South champions have bolstered a talented roster headlined by Pro Bowl quarterback and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud, led by dynamic coach DeMeco Ryans and coming off an ultra-productive offseason that landed Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs, Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter and Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon.
Now, the NFL schedule-makers are expected to show what the league thinks about the Texans following an 11-8 season that included one playoff victory.
The Texans, the talk of the NFL this offseason, are likely slated for multiple primetime games. The most frequent estimates are three to four primetime games on the Texans’ schedule.
“Our guys have earned the right to get more nationally televised games,” Ryans said. “We’ve shown that we’ve been a good team this past year, and we’re looking forward to continuing what we’ve done, but our guys have to go and earn it again this year. I think they’ve earned the right for more viewers to watch them.”
The Texans have several attractive matchups worthy of a national audience.
That includes a road game against star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Of course, the battle for supremacy in the state of Texas will be a hot ticket. The Texans travel to face the Dallas Cowboys this season. That game includes another top quarterback matchup between Stroud and Dak Prescott, the friendly rivalry between Stroud and Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons and Diggs against his brother, Cowboys standout corner Trevon Diggs.
Another matchup worthy of a larger audience: the Buffalo Bills at home.
There’s the obvious matchup between Diggs and his former team and a perennial playoff team that lost to the Texans in a 2020 wild-card playoff game.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Texans principal owner Cal McNair said.
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A home game against the Detroit Lions, a team that made it to the NFC championship game, is another attractive matchup.
Division rivalry games against the Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans are other candidates for featured games as well as a road game against the Green Bay Packers and their emerging young quarterback Jordan Love.
As bad as last season’s game against the New York Jets was for the Texans as Stroud suffered a concussion in a loss, this year could be altogether different. Plus, Jets quarterback and former NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers is back from a torn Achilles tendon.
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“It’s a direct correlation between last year and this year and how exciting the team is,” Texans foundation vice president Hannah McNair said. “We have a great coach, great staff, great on-field guys.”
The Texans have a demanding schedule, ranked the fourth-most difficult in the NFL, after improving from 3-13-1 in 2022 to 11-8 last season.
The schedule includes a game against the Baltimore Ravens, the defending AFC North champions led by multidimensional quarterback Lamar Jackson who defeated the Texans twice last season, including a lopsided AFC divisional round game.
“We’re excited to go play ball,” Ryans said. “I don’t care where it is, when it is, our team will be ready to go. We’re excited about every game.”
The seven returning playoff teams the Texans face include the Chiefs, Bills, Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Lions, Packers and Ravens.
Like most NFL coaches, Ryans will be looking for the open week on the schedule.
“Where does that bye week fall,” Ryans said. “Are we getting a good bye week? Are they taking care of us? I am excited about it. I am always excited for the schedule to come out, to see where we will be playing.
“You want it right in the middle. The thing that sucks is sometimes you get a bye week right after Week 4. It’s early and then you have a long stretch to the end of the season. Everyone wants it in the middle. That way, you can have a nice break and go on that run to make it into the playoffs.”
“We have shown that we are a good team this past year. We are looking forward to continuing to showcase what we have done, but our guys have to continue earning the right to have more viewers watch them.”
At the NFL owners’ meetings in Orlando, Fla., in the hallways of the Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes, the Texans’ all-in strategy was a frequent topic of conversation with NFL owners, general managers and coaches.
Among the commentary on an offseason that has already landed Diggs and netted Hunter and Mixon, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, defensive lineman Denico Autry while retaining tight end Dalton Schultz and kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn about a team headlined by Ryans, Stroud, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year defensive end Will Anderson Jr., Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil and standout cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.:
‘That team is loaded’
‘They’re really good. They’ve got a great young quarterback in C.J. Stroud.’
‘DeMeco Ryans’ leadership turned that team around.’
‘The Texans are going to be good for a long time.’
‘Nick Caserio did a great job with free agency.’
Accounting for the acquisition of Diggs, who was given a $20.895 million signing bonus in what could amount to a one-year rental in exchange for a 2025 second-round draft pick or lead to a longer tenure depending on how the working relationship develops between the four-time Pro Bowl selection and the Texans, they doled out a maximum combined $212 million over the full term of their free agent signings, players acquired by trade and re-signings.
In the wake of a major spending spree for a franchise that went 11-8 last season with one playoff victory in a dramatic turnaround from a team that went a combined 11-38-1 over the previous three seasons, a lot is expected from a team that has rapidly emerged as a trendy Super Bowl contender as is embracing the heightened outlook.
“You want high expectations,” Texans foundation vice president Hannah McNair said during the owners meetings. “You don’t want to go into something, going, ‘I hope we just make the playoffs. I hope we get a winning season.’ You always want the expectations to be high. I think the fact that we’re in those conversations is a testament to the decisions that are being made over the last couple of years.”
After years of instability and the firings of former general manager and coach Bill O’Brien, coach David Culley and coach Lovie Smith, the Texans are well-positioned.
“We only want to win the next game,” Cal McNair said. “We’re going to work hard on and off the field, and really put a great team on the field and have a bunch of leaders at every position and go out and play together and have fun doing it and go win.”
It’s a new day in Houston.
After enduring years of negativity and resulting fan apathy, the Texans are suddenly garnering a lot of praise for their decisions. The Texans are selling tickets at a fast rate for next season, too.
The Texans got A grades for working conditions at NRG Stadium, coaching and ownership in the annual NFL Players Association players poll.
They unveiled four new uniforms.
The approach hasn’t changed as the team continues to improve.
“I think we’re the same,” Cal McNair said. “We’re hard working. We’re trying to make good decisions every day and let that speak for itself. If people want to feel one way or the other, they’re certainly free to do that.”
In Stroud, a former Heisman Trophy finalist from Ohio State, the Texans have an accurate, strong-armed, dynamic quarterback who was named to the Pro Bowl as Patrick Mahomes’ replacement.
Stroud, 22, passed for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions with a 100.8 passer rating as a rookie.
Stroud joined Tom Brady and Joe Montana as the only players in NFL history to lead the league in passing yards per game and touchdown-to-interception ratio.
“He did great, so, yeah, he was really exciting,” Cal McNair said. “He brought the team together. It is a quarterback league and I think we got one. We can’t wait to see him start spinning it again and take the next step, so it’s going to be fun. And you Texans fans, I hope, are in for a good long treat.”
Stroud is already organizing offseason throwing sessions, getting together with Diggs, Dell and John Metchie III at UCLA.
The Texans could be in for an elongated window to contend with Stroud playing under a rookie contract for at least this year and next year before he’s eligible for a mega contract extension.
“He’s not just a quarterback,” Hannah McNair said. “He’s a leader. When you have that high-caliber quarterback, the only way to be great and be great for a long time, is to have a leader at that quarterback spot.”
Aaron Wilson is the Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com