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It’s a new era in which the Texans have garnered continuous, positive national attention and are one of the most buzzworthy teams in 2024.
Houston took a stellar 2023 season into the 2024 offseason and have continued to build steam off of this past year’s success. It’s an exciting time to be a Texans fan. The excitement will continue to roll on this week with expectations of thE NFL's 2024 schedule release.
Here’s a look at the opponents and storylines for the Texans in 2024 as we await word on the dates and times of the games.
TEXANS 2024 SEASON: Grading the defense | Grading the offense | Predicting the 53-man roster
2024 Texans opponents and locations
2023 at a glance
From 2020-2022 the Texans had a combined record of 11-38. The hiring of head coach DeMeco Ryans and staff, combined with the back-to-back top-3 selections of NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud and Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr. helped expedite the Texans’ turnaround to 11-8 record (including playoffs) in 2023.
Stroud and Anderson Jr. mark the fourth time since 1967 that teammates swept the Rookie of the Year awards. The last time it happened was in 2022 with Jets’ rookies Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner. Before that was with the Saints in 2017 with Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore.
Anderson Jr’s rookie season saw him finish as the only edge player in the NFL to finish in the top-3 in both pass rush win rate and run-stop win rate. Anderson Jr. started 13 of 15 games in which he played at least 63% of the defensive snaps. In his rookie year, Anderson Jr. totaled 22 QB hits which tied him with the likes of new teammate Danielle Hunter, former teammate Jonathan Greenard, Khalil Mack, Bradley Chubb, Rashan Gary and Zach Sieler. He also became the first Texans rookie to block a field goal since J.J. Watt in 2011.
Stroud led the league in passing yards per game at 273.9. He also put up an insane 4.60 touchdown-interception ratio, which was also best in the NFL. There’s only been two other times in NFL history that a quarterback led the league in both categories and neither time was the quarterback a rookie. The only other two quarterbacks to achieve the feat were Joe Montana (1989) and Tom Brady (2007).
Texans 2024 schedule overview
This year the Texans play eight home games with nine on the road. After going 10-7 in the regular season the Texans drew a much tougher schedule in 2024. Due to winning their division, they’ll have to face other AFC divisional winners — the Chiefs and Ravens.
They’ll also face the entire AFC East with two playoff teams from this past year in the Bills and Dolphins, along with the NFC North who had two playoff teams as well in the Lions and Packers. The schedule rounds out with two games each against their AFC South rivals and one game for the battle of Texas with the Cowboys.
Texans 2024 home games
| Ravens | 13-4 |
| Lions | 12-5 |
| Bills | 11-6 |
| Dolphins | 11-6 |
| Colts | 9-8 |
| Jaguars | 9-8 |
| Bears | 7-10 |
| Titans | 6-11 |
The Texans went 6-3 at home in 2023, which was their best home record in a season since going 6-2 in 2018 and 7-1 in 2016. The most consecutive home games won for the franchise was six in 2016. Texans currently have an active two-game winning streak including the playoffs.
The schedule is tough but if there is a positive to be taken away from the opponents, it’s that the Texans do at least get the bulk of the teams with records above 9-8 at home with four of the six heading to Houston for the matchups.
Texans 2024 road games
| Cowboys | 12-5 |
| City Chiefs | 11-6 |
| Packers | 9-8 |
| Colts | 9-8 |
| Jaguars | 9-8 |
| Jets | 7-10 |
| Vikings | 7-10 |
| Titans | 6-11 |
| Patriots | 4-13 |
Houston went 4-4 on the road this past season. The Texans started 1-3 on the road after bad losses in the Falcons and Panthers. Down the stretch, though, the Texans started to find their stride as a team and it carried over onto the road as they finished 3-1 out of Houston with the one loss being to the Jets. The Texans' best road record in a season was back in 2012 at 6-2.
Texans franchise win streaks
Consecutive games won at start of season: 5 (2012)(only time with more than two wins to start the season)Consecutive games won to end season: 4 (2009)Consecutive games won in a single season: 9 (2018)TEXANS 2024 NFL Draft: Winners & losers | Grades & superlatives | All picks | UDFA tracker
Texans primetime game options
Chiefs
The 2020s have belonged to Kansas City. The Chiefs have gone 3-1 in the past five Super Bowls and are currently the reigning back-to-back champs. As they gear up for a three-peat there may not be a better opponent to kick off the season against than the team that’s geared up the most to take them on in the Texans. Stroud showed as a rookie the potential to ascend as a young quarterback to the upper echelon of the position led by Patrick Mahomes. The 2024 season should start with the battle of Mahomes and Stroud in Kansas City.
Ravens
The Texans started and ended this past season in Baltimore as the Ravens beat Houston in Week 1 at home and then ended the Texans' season in playoffs, before they themselves lost in the AFC Championship game to the Chiefs. When the team that had the best regular season record in 2023 heads to Houston this season, it will be a must-watch affair between the reigning MVP, Lamar Jackson, and reigning OROY in Stroud. The Texans will face a familiar foe in the Ravens' new running back Derrick Henry, who spent his entire career with the Titans previously.
Cowboys
The battle of Texas will garner national attention in 2024 as the Cowboys had one of the best records in the NFL this past season and would pit quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb in a matchup against Stroud and a receiver group consisting of Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins and Tank Dell.
There are so many other storylines as well: Diggs will be facing off against his younger brother, star cornerback Trevon Diggs, in the matchup. Tight end Dalton Schultz would be making his return to face the Cowboys. Wide receiver Brandin Cooks would get to match up against his former Texans teammates in the rivalry game as well. Cowboys’ passing rush star Micah Parsons gets to get after his friend Stroud after a fun offseason pairing saw the duo entertain the masses via media broadcasts and touring.
Lions
Detroit and Houston were NFL darlings this past season. Two franchises that have lived as the doormat of the NFL for other teams and fanbases to wipe their feet on as they pass them up, each saw the script flipped in 2023. After tying the 49ers and Cowboys for the best NFL record, the Lions fell just short of a Super Bowl appearance after dropping the NFC Championship game in San Francisco by blowing a 17-point halftime lead and losing 34-31 after being outscored 27-7 in the second half. It’s a perfect matchup for the country to sit down and eat turkey on Thanksgiving.
The Texans have twice traveled to Detroit on Thanksgiving, in 2012 and 2020, and won both games. The matchup would put the Lions' talented offensive line against the ultra-talented Texans' pass rush. Stroud would be able to test the Lions' young secondary of 2023 second-round draft pick, cornerback Brian Branch as well as 2024 first and second-round selections of cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. The defense is led by Humble, Texas, native, Aaron Glenn who is the Lions’ defensive coordinator. Glenn is tied for fifth on the Texans' all-time interception list with Marcus Coleman (11), despite only playing three seasons in Houston. Glenn went to Nimitz High School and Texas A&M before becoming a first-round pick for the Jets.
Former Alabama teammates from the 2022 draft, wide receivers Jameson Williams and John Metchie III, each could show their worth on national television after both have had a rocky start to their careers. Williams was the fourth receiver selected in the 2022 draft at 12th overall with Metchie III as the ninth receiver off the board, only 32 selections later. To this point in their careers, Williams has caught 25 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns on a 49% catch rate whereas Metchie III put up 16 receptions for 158 yards on a 53% catch rate in 2023 after missing all of his rookie season.
Packers
Green Bay surprised many with the play of Jordan Love and their young core of talent this past season. The Packers went 6-2 down the stretch before heading to and beating Dallas in the playoffs. Their storybook season ended the same week of the playoffs as the Texans as the Packers blew a lead in San Francisco by giving up 10 unanswered fourth-quarter points to fall 24-21 to the 49ers. Stroud and Love are two of the better, young quarterbacks on the rise. They each had stellar production in 2023 with Love finishing the season with a 64.2 completion percent, 4,159 passing yards, 32 TDs and 11 INTs. Stroud in those categories came in at 63.9, 4,108 passing yards, 23 TDs and 5 INTs.
Dolphins
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was an offensive assistant with Texans when DeMeco Ryans was a rookie and stayed with the Texans for a few seasons. Ryans and McDaniel again found themselves in the same building under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco where McDaniel became offensive coordinator and Ryans became defensive coordinator. Now, they both are head coaches of two of the better teams in the AFC. The Dolphins' new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver also was on the Texans with Ryans and McDaniel from 2006-08 as a defensive end. Weaver returned to Houston as a defensive line coach and later was promoted to defensive coordinator. Each roster has a talented group of receivers with Miami matching Houston’s top trio of Diggs, Collins and Dell with Tyreek Hill, Houston-native Jaylen Waddle and Odell Beckham Jr. The Dolphins have a dangerous backfield trio with elite speed in Raheem Mostert, De’Von Achane and rookie Jaylen Wright.
Bears
The stellar second-year quarterback Stroud against this year’s No. 1 overall pick and dynamic passer, Caleb Williams. This will be another battle of offensive weapons, as Williams will have D.J. Moore and rookie top-10 pick Rome Odunze at receiver with Keenan Allen, who the Texans attempted to trade for this offseason before he opted for the Bears. The Texans then pivoted to bring in Diggs at receiver to join Collins and Dell. It’s not just at receiver that the Bears landed someone the Texans showed interest in this offseason as running back D’Andre Swift headed to Chicago to pair with Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson in the backfield, leaving the Texans to pivot and trade for Joe Mixon. The Bears have a talented duo at tight end with Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett. It’ll be an offense battle across the board with the Texans matching Chicago’s two top tight ends with two of their own in Schultz and rookie fourth-rounder Cade Stover.
Bills
Josh Allen comes to Houston and faces off against the Texans with Diggs on the opposing sideline. These former teammates are not going to lose to the other. Ed Oliver was the rare five-star recruit who chose to play for the Houston Cougars in college. Oliver returns home to take on the Texans in this AFC battle. The Bills aren’t as high on the list as other top-performing teams from this past season as they’ve had lots of turnover on the roster. They are still a dangerous team but not as fearful an opponent as in recent years.
Any AFC South opponent
There are so many good options outside of the division for potential primetime matchups that the AFC South matchups are almost an afterthought. It’s not for a lack of intriguing matchups with talented rosters. A few years ago, the NFL backloaded the NFL schedule for each team to have divisional matchups toward the end of the season when these matchups carry the most weight. The Texans could come away with many great primetime matchups this season. The AFC South matchups in the last couple weeks of the season could decide the division with the Texans facing such a tough schedule throughout the year.
Houston should have a national game around Week 17 or Week 18 against either the Colts, Jaguars or Titans. Anthony Richardson versus Stroud may be the most intriguing as both were top-5 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft with the intention that each will rise to become the face of their franchises. Richardson has an added weapon at receiver with Adonai Mitchell joining Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs and Alec Pierce. Trevor Lawrence and his backfield mate since college, Travis Etienne, are back for the Jaguars with receiver Christian Kirk and tight end Evan Engram being joined in the passing attack by free agent receiver Gabe Davis and rookie first-rounder Brian Thomas Jr. The Titans drafted their young quarterback of the future in Will Levis around 30 picks after the selections of Stroud and Richardson. The Titans added Calvin Ridley to the receiver group with former Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins. It would be a thing of beauty for the Texans to have a primetime game against the Titans and roll out their alternate uniforms with the Oilers’ color implemented in the design.
Texans 2024 schedule prediction
The Texans should get rewarded with five primetime games based off of their 2023 performance, schedule of matchup with tough opponents, storylines and the additions they’ve made in pursuit of their first ever Super Bowl.
The Chiefs, Ravens, Cowboys, Lions and Packers are the most likely primetime matchups outside of the AFC South. The Colts matchup is the most likely from the AFC South to be turned into a late-season primetime matchup. The wildcard pick is the Jets. The NFL could put Aaron Rodgers and Stroud on full display for the world, displaying one of the best-ever against one of the best young quarterbacks.
