Getty JJ Watt and the Texans have been up-and-down in the season's early going.
Amid the catastrophic flooding brought on by Hurricane Harvey, the Houston Texans vs. Dallas Cowboys preseason game set for Thursday has been canceled. The cancellation was first reported by Drew Davison of the Star-Telegram on Wednesday.
Cowboys confirm Thursday’s game has been canceled. Texans are going home.
NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo reported the reason for the cancellation is so that players can get back to Houston, be with their families and help in relief efforts.
The decision comes two days after the NFL announced that the game, which was slated to be played in Houston, was moved to AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Texans had been practicing at a Cowboys facility in Frisco while flooding from Harvey pounded the Houston area. It would have been the final preseason tune-up before the regular season starts next week.
“I know a lot of the lives of their families are affected by this,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said to the media after the move of the game was announced. “We’re here to support them in any way we can.”
The Texans are currently scheduled to open the NFL regular season at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 10.
In the meantime, Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has been using the last few days to raise an incredible amount of money for relief. He set up a YouCaring.com campaign with an initial goal of $100,000 on Sunday, and it’s grown substantially since. As of Wednesday afternoon, over 50,000 people have donated to Watt’s campaign and has raised Over $5.5 million so far.
Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 storm and has since dissipated to a tropical storm. Over 5,000 people have had to be rescued by workers and at least 30 people have died due to the storm. As of Wednesday, over 50 inches of rain fell in the area, and it was slated to make a second landfall Wednesday. The rainfall totals are the largest in the day span in United States history.