The Houston Texans announced on Tuesday they’ll wear their “Battle Red” alternate helmets with their Color Rush uniforms during Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, which kicks off at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
The helmets, which feature Houston’s primary logo on the sides and a red facemask, were introduced last season and have only been paired with red alternate jerseys, white pants and red socks to this point.
That includes a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022, as well as a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last month. The Texans are also set to wear this combination next weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The NFL requires teams to wear their second helmet with an alternate, Color Rush or throwback uniform, but it doesn’t restrict them wearing the helmets with both their alternate and Color Rush designs.
Teams can’t mix and match a classic helmet with a modern uniform design, however, as league rules state the overall design must be historically accurate.
That said, Houston announced plans this summer to wear the red alternate helmets three times this season, which suggested the franchise would not wear its Color Rush uniforms in 2023.
We were wrong to assume, though, as the all-blue Color Rush uniforms – which simply flip the colors in the numbers and pants stripes on their blue home set – will now be worn for the seventh year in a row.
The Texans are 7-2 while wear their Color Rush uniforms since they were introduced in 2017.
Houston now becomes the second team to wear their alternate helmet with a second uniform, as the Cincinnati Bengals petitioned the NFL to wear their white helmet with their all-white road uniforms this season.