Tonight the eyes of the nation, aside from the snowy Minneapolis-St. Paul and bustling New York City television markets, will be on Houston as the Baltimore Ravens (8-4) come to meet the Battle Red-clad Texans (5-7) for ESPN's "Monday Night Football."
No matter the franchise, a prime-time national game is always a big deal. For the Texans franchise, it's still new enough that fans and the organization get a bit more excited for. Tonight's Monday night game will be the fourth in Texans history and second this season.
Below the jump, Houston's Monday Night history, Battle Red history, series history with the Ravens, and tonight's TV coverage.
The Texans are 1-2 all-time on Mondays. Earlier this season, Houston lost to the Colts 30-17 in Indianapolis. Last season, Houston fell to the Tennessee Titans 20-17. In 2008, the Texans dominated the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-17 in Houston's first Monday night game since 1994.
Like the last two Monday night games in Houston, the Texans will be in their Battle Red uniforms. In the ketchup bottles, the Texans are 7-3 all-time.
The Ravens are one of five NFL teams that the Texans have never beaten. The Ravens lead the all-time series 3-0, and they last met in 2008. In the Hurricane Ike postponed game, the Ravens held a 19-13 lead after three quarters before taking advantage of two Sage Rosenfels 4th quarter interceptions to win 41-13. The teams also met in 2002 (Ravens won 23-19) and 2005 (Ravens won 16-15).
ESPN's pre-game coverage begins at 6 PM CT with game coverage beginning at 7:30 PM CT. For those in the Houston-area, KIAH (CW39) will also broadcast the game beginning at 7 PM CT.