I say it quite a bit in this space, that no sports league does a better job of turning seemingly EVERYTHING on the calendar into something important than the National Football League. In American sports, it seems like the most popular seasons across all sports, for example, are the NFL season and NFL draft season.
For some reason, the annual schedule release is something that the league itself took a while to apply the same level of urgency to as they do the season itself, free agency, and the draft. Fans have been in tune with its importance for a long time, what with planning road trips and circling dates on the calendar and what not, but until a few hears ago, the league would announced the schedule release date out of nowhere, and it’d be done in a couple days.
Finally, they’re starting to do it the same week every year, and they’ve started to give fans a much bigger runway to anticipate it, speculate about it, and count down the days until it happens. This year, it happens to take place tonight, and I would imagine their drafting a young, talented quarterback has made this schedule release a much more anticipated event than in the last two seasons. I know I’m excited about it!
With that said, here are the episodes of the upcoming drama “Houston Texans 2023 Season” that have more sizzle now due to the introduction of a brand new character, rookie QB C.J. Stroud:
The AFC South Battles
It’s been hard to get excited about the QB situation inside the AFC South the last couple seasons. Sure, Trevor Lawrence’s rise to prominence last season was fun, but the five year revolving door in Indy, the Tannehill Era in Tennessee, and the Davis Mills Experience here have been, um, less than inspiring. Now, there is at least some intrigue, with the selections of Stroud, Anthony Richardson, and Will Levis by Houston, Indianapolis, and Tennessee, respectively. Lawrence is now the elder statesmen! The divisional games should be fun this year.
Battle of the Top Two Rookies
Since 2012, we’ve seen quarterbacks go first and second in the draft four times, most recently in 2021. This year, it was Alabama’s Bryce Young going first to Carolina, with the Texans taking Stroud second overall. These two will face off against each other this season, in what is among the most likely Texan games to get put into a prime time spot, especially if it’s early in the season.
C.J. Stroud Returns to Ohio
Stroud is originally from California, but built his resume as a future NFL star in Columbus, Ohio at Ohio State. In his first press conference as a Texan, Stroud said that in the state of Ohio, the pecking order of prominent athletes it goes LeBron James (Akron native) and whoever the Ohio State quarterback is. That is probably news to Burrow, himself a former Ohio State QB (before transferring to LSU), who is the toast of the state in professional football.
Young Lion Stroud vs Old Lion Rodgers
The Jets are on the Texans’ schedule because both finished in last place in their respective divisions last season. Of course, that formula, which is designed to inject some parity into the season, doesn’t account for a recent two time MVP making his way from Green Bay to New York. Thankfully, the Texans should be better equipped to deal with the QB matchup with Stroud, as opposed to Davis Mills.
The Main Event — Deshaun Watson Return, Part II
Honestly, this one tops my list just so we can see Hannah McNair Snub-fest, The Sequel:
Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
