The Houston Texans know which day and at what time they’ll play their divisional round match next week – but not which opponent they’ll face.
The NFL released the playoff schedule for the upcoming week, with the Texans once again claiming the first game of the weekend. Houston will play Saturday, Jan. 20 at 4:30 p.m. on ABC/ESPN. But their opponent won’t be decided until Monday when the Buffalo Bills host the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The divisional playoff schedule is set: pic.twitter.com/YXD2MgJe8V
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 15, 2024
If the Bills win that game, Houston will travel to face the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. But if the Steelers pull off the upset, the Texans will travel to face the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
Both matchups offer intriguing opportunities for the red-hot Texans. The Ravens boast the best defense in the NFL and an equally powerful offense, while the Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl champions who can catch fire at any point in the year. Kansas City also just limited the Miami Dolphins’ No. 2-ranked scoring offense to just seven points in the wild card round.
The Texans looked unbeatable on both offense and defense in their 45-14 win over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. Quarterback C.J. Stroud broke rookie records in the win after tossing three first-half touchdowns, while the defense shut down the Browns’ top offensive players and even scored two pick-sixes to pull way ahead against Cleveland.
A game against the Ravens would be a rematch of the Texans’ Week 1 clash in Baltimore. The Ravens dominated the ground game en route to a 25-9 win over the Texans and limited Stroud to just 242 passing yards and no touchdowns.
But every game is different and every matchup is unique. And the Texans will have to wait to see who they face next week.