Saturday proved to be fruitful for the Texans: they got a win over Tennessee and an hour of time back to themselves.
Houston toppled the Titans, 19-14, at Nissan Stadium for a Christmas Eve victory. They did so after the game was delayed by an hour. Temperatures in the teens, and below, caused power outages around the region. With roughly an hour to go before the scheduled noon kickoff, the Titans, in conjunction with the NFL, the Office of Emergency Management, the Nashville Electric Service and the Mayor's office, delayed the game to 1:02 p.m.. That group did so "to ensure that the game would not negatively impact our community in any way."
With an unplanned hour of free time, some Texans caught up on sleep.
"I might have taken a nap for about 20 of those minutes," Head Coach Lovie Smith joked.
Defensive lineman Maliek Collins, who finished with a pair of tackles for loss and a pass deflection, also napped. While it wasn't the most fulfilling rest, it helped.
"I couldn't really sleep how I wanted to, but it was enough to get me a little bit of energy to go out there and play," Collins said.
Quarterback Davis Mills completed 17-of-his-28 passes for 178 yards, with a touchdown pass and an interception, and he used the extra time to fight the cold.
"Just kind of pushed back the pregame routine an hour," Mills said. "Stayed in the locker room, try to stay warm. It was pretty chilly this morning."
Smith, though, emphasized to his club the need to use that extra hour wisely.
"Right now, you've got a little bit more time to mentally get prepared to play," Smith said. "So, 'Hey, guys, we're not postponing the game. The game is going on, so get ready to go.' That's what they did."
The Texans will host the Jaguars on Sunday at noon inside NRG Stadium.
