JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars open the NFL season September 10 at the Houston Texans. At least, that's what the schedule says.
Jaguars officials said that they have not made any change of plans, but they are monitoring the impact of Hurricane Harvey and the continuing rain from the system on the Houston area to see if their travel to Houston or the game itself will be impacted.
As of Sunday, there was no decision made by the Jaguars or the league, but the team will continue to evaluate the situation as the game approaches.
The Jaguars play the Texans in Jacksonville on December 17 and there is a chance that the games could be swapped, playing in Jacksonville for the opener and in Houston in December. If that were to happen, there would be a litany of logistical boxes to be checked, not the least of which being informing fans of the change and selling tickets to the game in Jacksonville on a short turnaround.
Hurricanes have impacted NFL games in the past. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew forced the Miami Dolphins opener against the New England Patriots to be rescheduled for October 18, which was the bye week for both teams. Moving the Jaguars-Texans game to a bye week is not an option because the team don't share a bye week. The Jaguars bye week is October 29, the Texans is October 22.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina forced the Saints to play games that had been scheduled as home game in New York against the Giants then at LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge and the Alamodome in San Antonio. The Saints operations were run in San Antonio all season before returning to New Orleans for the following season.
While many Jaguars expressed concern for the residents of Houston Monday, one player, running back Leonard Fournette, had a personal experience with the kind of horrors that many in Houston may deal with.
Fournette was a child when Hurricane Katrina hit.
"I slept on a bridge for five nights, me an my entire family," Fournette said. "Just going through stores, hunting for food and medicine for my grandmother. It made me who I am"
Fournette said that he expects the Texans to be motivated for the opener as a rallying point for the city."
"That's tough times, I went through the same thing," Fournette said. "They're going to get through it, no matter what."