The Houston Texans will take on the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs, continuing a familiar tradition of playing in the Saturday afternoon slot. The NFL’s wild-card schedule, released on Sunday, confirmed that the Texans will once again play at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, a time slot often considered the least desirable for television.
The fourth-seeded Texans have made eight appearances in the wild-card round in their 23-year history, and they have played in the Saturday 4:30 slot every single time. Here are the start times for every wild-card game in Texans history:
- 2011: Saturday 3:30
- 2012: Saturday 3:30
- 2015: Saturday 3:30
- 2016: Saturday 3:30
- 2018: Saturday 3:30
- 2019: Saturday 3:30
- 2023: Saturday 3:30
- 2024: Saturday 3:30
Houston enters this season’s playoffs with a 10-7 record, the same as last year, but with less momentum following a down year for quarterback C.J. Stroud. The team has an even point differential and went 1-5 against playoff teams, including a 31-2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas.
Despite hosting the game, the Texans are 2.5-point underdogs against the Chargers at BetMGM. However, they have a 5-2 record in the wild-card round overall.
