The Houston Texans are busting out the red jerseys as they take on the Indianapolis Colts Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at NRG Stadium.
For the Texans, the red jerseys are a special alternate that the franchise has built an entire game around — Battle Red Day. In 2021, Battle Red Day will feature the Texans trying to avoid a series sweep at the hands of Indianapolis, who beat them 31-3 in Week 6.
When the Texans break out the red jerseys, it typically signifies a big game. There have been some key prime time battles in red, and there have been noontime beatings of AFC South foes. Here is a look back at all of the games Houston wore red.
2003 — Carolina Panthers, 14-10 — W
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The Texans beat the Panthers 14-10 in the first instance of Houston wearing red jerseys on Nov. 2, 2003.
2004 — Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-6 — W
(Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
Houston came away with a win on Oct. 31 to improve to 4-3.
2004 — Tennessee Titans, 31-21 — W
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Texans brought out the red jerseys for a second time, and they completed the sweep with a 31-21 win over the Titans on Nov. 28.
2005 — Indianapolis Colts, 20-38 — L
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The Colts were unstoppable that year throughout the regular season, and Houston couldn’t do anything right. The Colts prevailed on Oct. 23 to hand the Texans their first loss in the red jerseys.
2005 — Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-38 — L
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The Texans weren’t able to get the win and had an 0-fer in the red jerseys as Jacksonville got the win on Christmas Eve.
2006 — Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-7 — W
(Photo by Bob Levey/NFLPhotoLibrary)
Gary Kubiak couldn’t get much done his first year, but he did know how to restore winning in the red jerseys as they took care of the Jaguars on Oct. 22.
2007 — Denver Broncos, 31-13 — W
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The Texans debuted wearing entirely red on Thursday Night Football against the Broncos. Kubiak beat his old boss, Mike Shanahan, on Dec. 13.
2007 — Jacksonville Jaguars, 42-28 — W
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The Texans continued the winning in the red jerseys as they beat up on Jacksonville in the season finale on Dec. 30.
2008 — Jacksonville Jaguars, 30-17 — W
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No better way to pad the stats in red jerseys than to beat up on the Jaguars, which the Texans did on Monday Night Football on Dec. 1.
2009 — Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-31 — L
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You can only beat Jacksonville for so long before they start to fight back. The Jaguars picked up a win on Sept. 27.
2009 — Tennessee Titans, 17-20 — L
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The Texans couldn’t get a win in the red jerseys as the Titans came away with a win on a missed field goal on a Monday night on Nov. 23.
2010 — Baltimore Ravens, 28-34 — L-OT
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In another Monday night game, Houston got the ball back in overtime against the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 13. However, Matt Schaub threw a pick-six on the 9-yard line to lose the game.
2011 — Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-14 — W
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The Texans got back on track with winning in red by dusting the Jaguars on Oct. 30.
2012 — Baltimore Ravens, 43-13 — W
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The Texans finally got the Ravens in red with a beatdown on Oct. 21 to move to 6-1 on the season.
2013 — Indianapolis Colts, 24-27 — L
(AP Photo/Patric Schneider)
This was the game Kubiak collapsed just before halftime. It was a Sunday nighter, but the losing streak continued on Nov. 3.
2014 — Philadelphia Eagles, 21-31 — L
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In the first Battle Red Day of the Bill O’Brien era, Houston couldn’t come away with the win on Nov. 2.
2015 — New England Patriots, 6-27 — L
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The Texans against failed to get a win with O’Brien on Battle Red Day on Dec. 13 on Sunday Night Football.
2016 — Jacksonville Jaguars, 21-20 — W
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This is the only time the Texans pulled out this combination on Dec. 18, but it had familiar results with a win over the Jaguars.
2017 — San Francisco 49ers, 16-26 — L
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With the 49ers already being a red-dominant team, it was almost as unsettling as the 2016 red-blue combination. San Francisco got the better of Houston on Dec. 10.
2018 — Buffalo Bills, 20-13 — W
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Cornerback Johnathan Joseph’s pick-six gave the Texans a win on Oct. 14 to correct their record at 3-3 amid a nine-game winning streak after starting the year 0-3.
2019 — Denver Broncos, 24-38 — L
(AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
The Texans fell down as far as 38-3 in the fourth quarter before mounting a comeback on Dec. 8.
2020 — Indianapolis Colts, 20-26 — L
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A botched snap and Deshaun Watson’s inability to recover the loose ball doomed Houston to lose their third Battle Red Day to the Colts on Dec. 6.
