Hey, I know, as Houston Texans fans, there is plenty on our plate to eat right now. For the first time since 2019, our team is relevant midway through November, and as opponent quality goes, the schedule is relatively light, compared tot he rets of the league.

Keep in mind, this is a light schedule for a Texans team that has proven they can beat good teams. Of the Texans' five victories this season, the Buccaneers have the worst record, at 4-5. The Texans own head to head wins over current playoff teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New Orleans Saints.

That said, sometimes I find myself slightly exhausted stressing about this season and dreaming of what could be, and my mind drifts elsewhere. Sunday morning, my mind wandered to next season, 2024, and exactly who the Texans would be playing on next year's slate. This signature of this season's schedule is the relative weakness of the opponent gauntlet. In looking ahead to next season, it's quite the opposite, especially if the Texans finish first or second in the AFC South.

Since, essentially, 14 of the 17 opponents on an NFL schedule are etched in stone in a perpetual rotation, we know most of the Texans' 2024 opponents already.  The Texans play their own division twice, the entire NFC North, and entire AFC East in 2024, so here are the 14 opponents we know with certainty right now:

HOME: Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Tennessee, Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, Miami
AWAY: Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Tennessee, Green Bay, Minnesota, New England, New York Jets

We will revisit this in a moment, but the other three opponents will be the teams that finish in the same spot as the Texans in their division, from the AFC West (away), AFC North (at NRG), and NFC East (away). Currently, that would mean two road games at Las Vegas and Dallas, and a home game against the Steelers, but those three games can obviously change, and likely will.

The most exciting point in all of my daydreaming over this topic is this — if you're a Houston Texans season ticket holder, your 2024 tickets are going to be incredibly valuable based on (a) the Texans' marked improvement in 2023, (b) the existence of C.J. Stroud, and (c) the slate of home opponents in 2024. WOW!

Think about it, and start with the division. With Trevor Lawrence, plus two of Stroud's fellow 2023 draftees, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis, the AFC South divisional games are the juiciest they've been in years! From there, the two AFC East opponents coming to Houston, Buffalo and Miami, are currently the two best teams in that division, each with an MVP candidate at quarterback, Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa.

The two NFC North opponents coming to Houston are very intriguing, as the Detroit Lions' rebuild has been rapid, and has transformed them into a Super Bowl contender. The Chicago Bears are abjectly terrible this season, but have a heart chance at drafting USC's Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. It'd be fun to watch DeMeco Ryans' defense destroy him!

Finally, there's that variable home game with an AFC North opponent. There's really no bad choice among those four teams. Any of Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati — and that's the pecking order in the division, as of this week — would bring some energy to NRG Stadium. If we are able to choose, why not have Deshaun Watson visit for a three hour chorus of boos, right? Especially since we will be deprived of that this season with his shoulder injury ending his 2023 campaign.

The bottom line is that the fun we're experiencing at home in 2023 goes to a whole other level in 2024. Good times ahead, Texans season ticket members!

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.