The NFL’s full schedule for 2026 will be released on Thursday night this week, but before then there will be small nuggets of the schedule dropped on social media. Some of those actually come from the league, like the announcement on Monday that the Cowboys and Giants will meet in Week 1 on Sunday Night Football. Some are just rumored dates, many of which are false.
However, there are a few folks on social media who do “know things” and are well sourced. One of those is an account on X named @NerdingonNFL. Each year, right before the schedule release, whoever is running this account will drop a few rumored matchups, and whoever is running this account does get them right.
Why is that important? Well, it’s important because, as of Monday, @NerdingonNFL had only dropped one matchup that wasn’t already announced by the NFL — according to this X account, the Houston Texans are going global in 2026, as they will head to London to face the Jacksonville Jaguars!
This is big scheduling news! Here are a few thoughts on a matchup that might ultimately decide the winner of the AFC South:
This will be the Texans first trip overseas since 2019
The Texans have only played two international games in the team’s history. In 2016, they traveled to Mexico to face the Raiders in a late November loss, and in 2019, they made their first and only trip, thus far, to London, whomping the Jaguars, 26-3. Back then, in 2019, international games were largely just in London, but in the last seven years, the NFL has expanded into South America, Germany, Ireland, and in Week 1 this season, Australia. It’ll be nice to have the Texans back on the international grind.
This is a major matchup for the NFL to export out of the good ol’ USA
The Texans are currently the favorites to win the AFC South this season at odds of +125. The Jags, who won the division last season, are second at +210. The game in which the Jags are the host team is arguably the most important game in the division all season, and it’s going to be played in London. That’s a little strange, and an odd variable to be injected into a crucial matchup for both teams. I would submit that having that game in London gives the Jaguars a slight edge as they traveled to London every season, and as a result, they likely have a routine in which they are very comfortable. The only player on the Texans still remaining from the last trip to London is kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn.
This likely means that the Texans’ bye week will be in Week 7
Typically, when teams traveled overseas, they have their bye week on the back end of those trips. This particular London game will take place in Week 6, so it would stand to reason that the Texans’ bye week will be in Week 7. Ideally, what most players would tell you is that they prefer the bye week come right in the middle of the season, which means Week 9 or 10 (of an 18 week regular season). Thus, like last season, when the Texans’ bye week was in Week 6, this falls a tad early in the season, but at least it’s not like 2024, where the Texans’ bye week was in Week 14!
