Quarterback C.J. Stroud and DeMeco Ryans and the Houston Texans are preparing to face the Arizona Cardinals in Week 15, but the NFL had a big change for the franchise.
Houston has done well to overcome their 0-3 start this season. They also lost Stroud for three games due to a concussion, to sit 8-5 on the season with a legitimate chance at winning the AFC South still.
The NFL wants to ensure plenty of fans get to see the Texans fight on.
NFL Flexes Texans-Chargers Into National TV Slot
GettyHouston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans looks on before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Texans and Los Angeles Chargers have known they would square off against one another in Week 17 of this season. They also knew it would take place in SoFi Arena. However, the time slot for the contest remained to be determined.
That is, until Wednesday, when the Texans announced on X, “Our game vs. the Chargers has been flexed to 3:30PM CT on Saturday, December 27 on NFL Network.”
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on X on December 10 that “The NFL finalized its Week 17 schedule: Saturday, Dec. 27 will feature a doubleheader starting with the #Texans at #Chargers at 4:30 p.m. ET on NFL Network and ending with the Peacock Holiday Exclusive featuring the #Ravens at the #Packers at 8 p.m. ET.”
There should be plenty at stake for both the Texans and Chargers.
“The two games should have plenty of playoff implications as the 2025 NFL season reaches a close,” The Around The NFL Staff wrote on December 10. “The Texans (8-5) and Chargers (9-4) currently are the Nos. 7 and 5 seeds, respectively, in the AFC.”
This would be a rematch of the 2024 AFC Wild Card Playoffs. Then, the Texans defeated the Chargers, advancing to the Divisional Round.
Houston lost in the next round to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Stroud and the Texans have already exacted a measure of revenge for that loss, defeating the Chiefs on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 13. They have a fitting opportunity to prove their 2024 meeting was no fluke and bolster their positioning for the postseason.
League Could Flex Another Texans Game
GettyPhilip Rivers #17 of the Indianapolis Colts #17 of the Indianapolis Colts attempts a pass against the Buffalo Bills.
Stroud and the Texans are still awaiting final word of their Week 18 tilt against the Indianapolis Colts, which, like the Chargers tilt, has initially been slated as a 1 p.m. Sunday game.
That matchup seemed destined to remain in its previously assigned time slot.
The Colts lost quarterback Daniel Jones for the season to a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in Week 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the AFC South’s top team. The injury cast tremendous doubts on the Colts’ outlook amid an 8-4 record on the year.
However, the Colts lured former starter (and Chargers icon) Philip Rivers out of retirement. He has not played since 2020.
Still, Rivers is on track to start in Week 15. He would presumably be the Colts’ QB1 in Week 18 if healthy. He is also an eight-time Pro Bowler and was the Comeback Player of the Year in 2013. All of that could entice the league to flex that matchup for Ryans and the Texans, too.
First, though, Ryans, Stroud, and the Texans must get past the Cardinals in Week 15.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Texans Make Announcement After NFL Delivers Critical Final Decision appeared first on Heavy Sports.