When the schedule is loaded with tough games at the start of the schedule, it sends a message to the team that it must be ready to compete hard as the season gets

The Houston Texans defense will see an unlikely opponent in Sam Darnold when they face the Minnesota Vikings. Darnold is stepping in as the starter after No. 10 overall pick J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury back in training camp.

So it would have been reasonable for outside observers to cringe at Sam Darnold's wild flip of the ball toward running back Aaron Jones Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, not only because it threatened to turn a busted play into a massive turnover,