The Houston Texans will begin their 19th season in franchise history where their fourth trip to the divisional playoffs ended: Kansas City. The AFC South champions will play foil to the Super Bowl LIV champions on NBC in the Thursday night opener on NBC to kickoff the 2020 season.
Here are four takeaways from the 2020 slate.
1. Not ready for primetime?
The only game the Texans will play under the lights, at least for now, is Week 1 in Kansas City, which is a baffling development.
Consider that in 2018 the Texans were coming off a 4-12 season where their star rookie quarterback, Deshaun Watson, was rehabbing from a torn ACL in practice, and their face of the franchise, J.J. Watt, was rehabbing from his second season-ending injury. Why would you give that team three primetime games?
It isn’t like Houston hasn’t delivered in primetime. Since 2018, the Texans have compiled an 8-1 record in nationally televised games. It isn’t like putting some other AFC South opponents in primetime. Watson and the Texans have delivered.