they should have been doing it with the jets too but at least their defense is good and keeps them in games for the most part
could be, but I think they are going to put Miami vs Buffalo, if Miami loses to Baltimore, they will play for the division crown vs the Bills. Its gonna be between those games.
Some of it is absolutely rooted in the win-and-in nature of the match-up - Texans/Colts is the only direct do-or-die on the schedule. But even taking that into consideration, I still think it says something that the Texans are drawing Buck/Aikman this weekend. I suspect it's a small preview of what's to come next year, in which I think they'll garner several primetime games. My prediction is as many as two MNF games + at least one SNF showcase. And.... I'm personally guaranteeing they'll play the Cowboys on Thanksgiving - *IF* they draw Dallas (which they will if both teams win their divisions). Houston should have some really intriguing match-ups: Packers, Lions (+ Bears, if they draft a new QB 1.1), Bills & Dolphins (Jets, too, if Rodgers is back and they're better). And if they win the division: Chiefs, Ravens and Cowboys/Eagles. If they finish second: Broncos, Browns, Cowboys/Eagles.
This already has me thinking about how hard next season's schedule could be, and why we can't take for granted what's remarkably happening this season and how we have to seize the opportunity. I find this season a success no matter what happens this weekend given where we came from, BUT I also am not going to just assume we will be in playoff contention regularly from this point forward. Every season is different and a season can get derailed very easily. The iron is hot right now, win and get in and make some noise dammit!
Im just glad I can watch a critical game at home without needing to use that worthless Paramount app. CJ is a gamer. Im expecting a HUGE game from him under the bright lights.
If the Texans have another offseason as good as this past offseason - with CJ, they will be grouped among the elite teams in the AFC. Only five teams in the conference have better QBs (none on rookie deals), and that's right now, minus any year 2 leaps from CJ.
I predict two Monday night games; one Sunday Night game; Cowboys on Thanksgiving, and with Buffalo, Baltimore, Kansas City & Miami + Detroit & Green Bay, I suspect they'll get a few 3PM games, too. And if they're good, more Nantz/Romo than any other season. Their schedule is tailor-made for national games.
They’ll have at least 2 SNF games and the Thursday Cowboys game. They’ll have one MNF game. But it’s still tough to predict they’ll get any 3pm games given how selective CBS/Fox is for those slots (whereas mostly every playoff team will automatically get one SNF and one MNF game). Just to re-iterate, the Texans have had only ONE 3pm national game in their 22 year existence… by far the most exclusive of all games.
Maybe. But that's not how NBC has historically operated with the hot new teams: last year, Jacksonville got one, as did Detroit (and it was technically a Thursday night). The year after the Bengals went to the Super Bowl, they got one. The problem with the Sunday night game is, record aside, the New York and Los Angeles teams will be in the mix, as will the NFL legacy teams (Green Bay, Chicago, Pittsburgh...) There's always flex - but in terms of scheduled, I'd be surprised if it's more than 1. How is a game being played at the same time as several other games "the most exclusive"?... Sunday Night Football is the NFL's premiere showcase - it's ratings far outstrip the late games and it is specifically designed to feature the league's best teams. Amazon and MNF are far more egalitarian.
The Rams WON the Super Bowl and the next year didn't get a single SNF/NBC game aside from the season opener. Also the only NY team who got SNF games that year (talking the 2022 season) was the Bills lol, so not even an NYC team. I don't think the theory SNF will put up LA/NYC team holds considering this. SNF: Ravens OR Bills, @Packers (legacy team right?), @Chiefs (potentially but this can make for a great late start too) MNF: Could see the Colts with ARich OR Lions TNF: @_Cowboys on Thanksgiving Other: NFL Euro against the Vikings in London 5-6 games You hear sports commentators who work the AM drive often say they skip the Sunday night games because they have to wake up early, and fast watch it the next morning on DVR. The 3pm slot doesn't have these same situations, but they do have more competition because there's typically several games going on.
They actually had 2 - but their second game got flexed. This past season, the Giants & Jets each got two SNF games; the Chargers 3, and from a legacy standpoint: Raiders & Steelers 2 + Patriots, Bears, Broncos - and anybody with 1/2 a brain knew those teams, minus even an average QB, were not going to be good in '23. That's honestly how they should start scheduling these, less focus on teams and more on QBs. But for casual fans, those legacy teams + NY and LA are always going to get run. CBS is going to want some Texans, too - so they may fight to keep Ravens and/or Bills. Chiefs remain in play for opener if they win it all. And, yeah - Love v Stroud will be a primetime game, for sure - not sure which network, though.
They no longer get the best game each week, see below. Not true. SNF is a ‘showcase’ but doesn’t get the premier game every week. The 3:25 game actually does get the most viewers (especially in the 6-7 EST hour leading into prime time), see https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/nfl-tv-ratings-viewership-2023/ When you look at the coverage map, the entire nation usually gets the 3:25pm game save for one or two markets that may choose to black that game out (but has now since gone away from that since this is a very much in demand game even for competing markets). Lastly, if you look at the teams they choose to play those games… there is exclusivity in terms of usually getting the ‘best’ matchups (largely due to the premium that Fox/CBS pay for their share of this marquee game), and they don’t have the tendency to simply reward playoff teams with token games like SNF does and MNF used to do. MNF gets a better slate now since they paid more for Buck/Aikman/package. And the quality of the SNF matchup gets diluted when the NFL has to spread around decent games amongst the streaming. But the national 3:25 game is pound for pound typically the best matchup/game of the week… and the ratings continue to reward that.
Their ratings are still near the top each week (when they have the best game) because the game is still on in nearly all markets (even if theres another game). The Texans have only played one game in that time slot because there are no “token” appearances there and they’ve been a non premier franchise for their 22 year existence… but one player can change all of that (see the Chiefs/Mahomes).
