With every team playing on Thursday Night Football, all 32 teams get to experience playing under the lights at least once a season.
Of course the David Culley Texans quarterbacked by Tyrod Taylor were going to have at least one prime time affair. Same goes for the Lovie Smith team led by Davis Mills.
However, no one wanted to give the Texans more exposure than that, and for good reason.
The NFL ought to reconsider their hesitancy about giving the Texans prime time games in 2023.
In 2021, the Texans had the cumulonimbus cloud of a disgruntled franchise quarterback mired in a sexual assault lawsuit hanging over their heads. Aside from their road trips to Arizona and San Francisco, Houston didn’t even make it out of the 12:00 p.m. Central start time.
In 2022, Houston may have been in the first year of a clean rebuild. They didn’t have the quarterback issues to deal with, but there was no star power at all on the roster. Only so many football fans know who Jalen Pitre was.
2023 is different. New coach DeMeco Ryans earned respect during the past two years as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator, helping San Francisco qualify in the past two NFC Championship Games. Quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive lineman Will Anderson also bring a certain cache to the team coming from big college programs such as Ohio State and Alabama.
The Texans also have a few opponents on their roster that would be worthy of storylines throughout the week.
How could the Texans playing the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium not be a prime time game when Stroud and Anthony Richardson were stellar on the same field during the NFL combine in March? That would be a natural for Thursday Night Football.
There is another fascinating rookie showdown between No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young and the quarterback who came after him, Stroud. Why not put Houston and the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football in late October when both rookies get their pro legs under them?
Another good Monday nighter would be the Texans and the defending AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars, and the quarterback matchup between Stroud and Trevor Lawrence would be a selling point.
Nothing will make Houston’s case more that they need to be in prime time than stacking wins. Then, the league could always flex them in Sunday Night Football later in the year.
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