The New Orleans Saints will help round out Week 1 of the 2019 NFL season by hosting the Houston Texans on ‘Monday Night Football’, per Nick Underhill of the Athletic. The NFL typically schedules a double-header for the first Monday night game of the season, so this would put the Saints in one of those two time slots. The later spot is usually reserved for two West Coast teams, so it’s possible the Saints could expect to play in the earlier game.
Because the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears will ring in the new season on September 5 (a Thursday), this would put the Saints-Texans game on September 9 (the following Monday).
The Saints and Texans have not played in the regular season since 2015, when Houston hosted and won handily, 24-6. The series history between these two teams is short (the Texans were not founded until 2002 as an expansion team) and tied up at 2-2. Interestingly, the two teams have met each other often in the past during the preseason and held joint practice sessions.
Houston boasts some serious playmakers: receiver DeAndre Hopkins was the only other player selected to that position for the 2018 All-Pro first team, along with Saints star Michael Thomas. The Texans are quarterbacked by rising stud Deshaun Watson, and their defense is led by pass rushing duo J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney. They’ll be able to test the Saints all over the field.
