Houston Texans cornerback Steven Nelson is going into familiar territory when they take on the Denver Broncos Sunday at 3:25 p.m. Central Time at Empower Field at Mile High.
The former Kansas City Chiefs 2015 third-round pick played three games on the road against their AFC West rivals. Nelson even played at Denver last season while a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Nelson’s advice for newcomers in the altitude is generic.
“I’ve heard more fluids, hydrate yourselves as much as possible,” Nelson told reporters Sept. 13. “I guess rest always helps, coming off the first game like the way we had. I don’t know if anything pretty much prepares you more than that.”
One of the reasons why Nelson doesn’t have any specific techniques to share about withstanding the altitude in Denver is two of his games were in Denver and another in December. Only Week 4 in 2018 was outside of the weather change as it was played on Oct. 1.
Most of Nelson’s games have been in the colder weather, which has made for a different effect.
Said Nelson: “That’s funny because I’ve played there when it’s colder. It’s never really affected me. I don’t think it has. People say that when it’s warmer out there, it kind of affects you a little bit. I’ll be kind of interested to see how that changes.”
The Texans haven’t had too much trouble against the Broncos on the road. Houston has a 2-3 record at Empower Field at Mile High with the last win coming Nov. 4, 2018, when kicker Brandon McManus missed a 51-yard field goal as time expired.