COVID-19 has had many detrimental impacts on American society, but for once it has presented a gift to Houston sports fans. For the first time since 1980, the Astros, Texans, and Rockets will all be playing games on the same day. Not only are they all playing games, they are all taking part in pivotal games that could decide the fate of their respective seasons.

The Astros take the field first in our rare Houston sports triple-header at 2:40. They’ll be playing their AL West foes in the Oakland A’s. Both teams are contenders to win the division this year, with only 5.5 games separating the 2 teams in the standings. If the Astros lose today, they’ll almost certainly lose the division and the opportunity to have home field advantage in the first round of the restructured MLB playoffs. If they’re able to get 6+ runs against this strong A’s pitching staff, they’ll almost certainly win. However, they’ll have to do it early because the A’s bullpen have been very successful in shutting down the Astros’ hitters throughout their series.

The Rockets tip off against the Lakers at 6:10, moments after the Astros game is expected to end. The Rockets are currently down 2-1 in their best-of-seven series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Should they go on to win, they’ll tie up the series and essentially make it a best-of-three series. However, this will be no easy task. The Rockets have looked tired over their last 2 games in the 4th quarter against the Lakers, unable to finish off close games in which they have small leads. Danuel House’s mysterious disappearance from the team due to personal reasons is a big loss for a Rocket’s team that doesn’t have much depth. If they lose, they’ll go down 3-1. This doesn’t make Game 4 a must-win game; however, it will be very difficult to win 3 straight elimination games against a physical Lakers team. The Rockets have looked like the better team for the majority of this series, but if they aren’t able to maintain that level of play in the 4th Quarter, the Rockets could be facing a win-or-go-home situation in Game 5.

Lastly, the Texans kick off their NFL season tonight against the reigning Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. The last time these two teams faced off, the Texans raced out to a 24-0 lead, only to see it disappear by halftime. Obviously, most people see this as a duel between the 2 star quarterbacks: Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. But, the matchup to watch in this game is how both team’s defenses try to limit their production. Neither team is particularly great on the defensive side of the game, but both have shown promise in specific areas. The Texans boast a solid cornerback pairing in Bradley Roby and Gareon Conley, while the Chiefs have an elite set of safeties in Tyrann Mathieu and Daniel Sorensen. Despite this, expect a high scoring game with both teams scoring more than 30 points. Whichever quarterback has the ball at the 2 minute warning is likely to win the game for his team.

For all the sports fan out there, try to cherish today. There’s a chance we may never see all three of our home sports teams play on the same day again. Go Astros, Go Rockets, Go Texans!