NFL Week 6: Texans Bye Week — Four Games To Watch

There is a ton of debate every season as to what the optimal time is for the bye week for an NFL team. Last season, the Houston Texans had their bye week deep into the season, in early December, and that didn’t sit very well. The Texans were a banged up team heading into the holidays. 

This season, the Texans have their bye week this weekend, in early October, Week 6 of the regular season. On the one hand, they’re still kind of installing a new offense, so an extra week to prepare for a tough stretch of schedule is a good thing. On the other hand, they’re coming off C.J. Stroud’s best game in over a year. A bye week might curb momentum! 

My point is this — with no Texans football this weekend, embrace the bye week, as a fan, for what it is. It is a chance to scout future Texans opponents, and enjoy some hard hitting football without the stress of caring who wins and loses! (That is, unless you’re a gambler, and that’s a whole other ball of wax.)

With that in mind, in a weekly article where I would give you “Four Things to Watch For” in the Texans game that week, I give you “Four Games To Watch” on this bye weekend Sunday! Here we go:

Arizona at Indianapolis, Noon CT, FOX (Colts -7)

The Colts have been one of the wildest stories of the 2025 NFL season, with a 4-1 record and with Daniel Jones rehabbing his career as an NFL quarterback in a big, big way. Jones is in the MVP conversation and RB Jonathan Taylor is one of the favorites for Offensive Player of the Year. The Cardinals are coming off a catastrophic 22-21 loss to the abysmal Tennessee Titans, in which numerous self-inflicted wounds led to blowing a 21-6 lead. A Cardinals upset here would be massive in getting the Colts a half game closer to the Texans’ windshield. 

Seattle at Jacksonville, Noon CT, FOX (Jaguars -1)

Similarly, here we are also rooting for an NFC West team (and future Texans’ opponent in Seattle) to bring a 4-1 AFC South team closer to the Texans in the standings. This game is a much closer matchup, with the Seahawks likely the slightly better team, but with home field giving the Jags a one-point edge on the spread. The most interesting thing with this game will be seeing how the Jags respond to one of their biggest regular season wins in the last eight years, an upset of the Chiefs last Monday night. Will there be a let down? Here, Texan fans will be rooting for their next opponent, as the Texans travel to Seattle out of the bye week. 

San Francisco at Tampa Bay, 3:25 p.m. CT, CBS (Buccaneers -3)

On paper and around the country, this is just a nice matchup of 4-1 teams, but in Houston, here is a game between Texans opponents, past and future. We all remember the 20-19 loss to the Bucs in Week 2, but the Texans also play the Niners coming up in Week 8. The Bucs’ QB Baker Mayfield, like Daniel Jones, is a somewhat unlikely MVP candidate through five games. Both of these teams have excelled in close games this season. There is no real rooting interest here, but if the Bucs care to inflict any injuries on the Niners’ key players, I wouldn’t stop them from doing it. 

Detroit at Kansas City, 7:20 p.m. CT, NBC (Chiefs -2.5)

Indeed, America, we get the Chiefs again in prime time. I suppose as long as Taylor Swift is married into the Chiefs’ family, they’ll be on national television at least a half dozen times a year, so just sit back and enjoy it! The Texans play the Chiefs in Week 14 (in prime time, go figure!), and right now both are a disappointing 2-3. We are all in on the Lions here, as the Chiefs falling to 2-4 would be positively delightful! 

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