Potential trap games that the Houston Texans have to worry about

We now know who the Houston Texans will play and when in 2024, as the league released the full schedule Wednesday night. And let me tell you, it’s filled with a lot of great games. Houston has a lot of tough teams that should make for entertaining football, with a few easy teams they will face in between. You can find the schedule here, and chances are you weren’t disappointed when you saw the schedule for the first time. Houston has four primetime games scheduled, with the potential for another as the week 18 matchup against the Tennessee Titans doesn’t yet have a date or time. However, in this article let’s get into the potential trap games the Texans have scheduled. 

Before we get to the Texans trap games, let me take a second to explain to you what that term means if you don’t already know. A trap game is when a good team immediately follows a bad team on the schedule (i.e. the Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs are hypothetically on the schedule back-to-back weeks), or a team that hasn’t lived up to their expectations. The team facing the “bad team” may overlook them and focus on the “good team” they face the following week, resulting in a surprising loss. Now, let’s get to the Texans trap games.

Trap Game No.1

Starting in Week 6, the Texans will face a new-look New England Patriots team. Who they have at quarterback is still up in the air, but there’s a chance they’ll face rookie Drake Maye. With the amount of work the Texans did to their defense, guys like Danielle Hunter and Denico Autry are the new guys who will be called upon to rattle the young signal caller. Rookie head coach Jerod Mayo is still a question mark, which makes this team tough to get a read on. That could prove costly as the Patriots don’t have very high expectations put on them this year and could look to play spoiler to an AFC opponent. 

The next week they face the Green Bay Packers, who reloaded their roster this off-season. They went 9-8 but played better than their record showed. Now, with Josh Jacobs, Xavier McKinney, and Edgerrin Cooper added to their roster, they can make it a ballgame against Houston.

Trap Game No.2

In Week 9, the Texans face the New York Jets, who have one of the most injury-riddled teams in all of sports. Even though it’s mostly the same roster as last year, the Jets added some new faces to the team. Tyron Smith, who has missed 17 games in two seasons, and Mike Williams, who is coming off of a torn ACL and only played in three games last year. This Jets team is capable of contending in the AFC or competing for third place in their division again. If we get to Week 9 and this team is battling injuries again, this matchup has everything needed to make it a trap game. 

In week 10 they will face the Detroit Lions who are coming off of a championship game appearance, and continue adding to their roster. Adding Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rackestraw through the draft, along with DJ Reader and Marcus Davenport in free agency. Coming off of a division win, the Lions mean business this year and are looking to win games early and often this year. This matchup will be exciting not only for fans in general but also for both fanbases.