Will the weather affect the Houston Texans' opening-day contest against the Indianapolis Colts?

The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts are set to square off on Sunday, live from Lucas Oil Stadium. The two AFC South rivals will look to start off the season on the right foot, as a one over one another may set either team up for future success down the road. The South was decided by just one game, and while every game matters in the NFL, divisional games matter even more.

Winning your division guarantees you a playoff birth, but also an easier road through the playoffs. The Texans parlayed their divisional victory into a win over the Cleveland Browns in the first week of playoff action. The home-field advantage certainly paid off in that game.

So a team must get a leg-up on their rivals with every opportunity that comes their way. If 2023 was an indication of what the club can expect in 2024, the Texans are going to need every divisional win just to get some breathing room in the AFC South. That means the Texans need to play well rain or shine.

Luckily for this Sunday, it'll be all sunshine for the Texans. While the weather often plays a major effect on teams (rain making fields slicker, snow causing the ball to be harder to control, heat sapping bodies of their energy, and the like) adjusting to those situations can mean the difference between a good team or a great team.

The Texans don't have to worry about such issues this Sunday when they take on the Colts. The weather will be a bit cool in Indianapolis, just 68 degrees but with on overcast, meaning it'll likely be harder to see with no protection from the sun. That's not an issue for the Texans.

The Colts play in one of the most beautiful indoor stadiums in the NFL. So things like temperature or not having cloud cover aren't going to affect the game by any means. That said, Houston and its players will have to worry about something maybe far worse; artificial turf.

The stadium just replaced its former playing service with the Hellas Matrix Turf, so the Texans will be the Colts' first opponents on this new type of artificial field turf. The fake grass the NFL allows teams to use has been something of a controversial lightning rod these days, and an influx of injuries has been blamed on not using natural grass.

The Texans avoided one issue with the weather but walked right on into a potentially worse one. If any of the better players from the Texans get hurt due to the new turf, there will be many an outraged Houston fan.