<\/p>\n
Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans runs to celebrate with his team after a pick six against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium in Houston on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. Houston Texans won the game 36-29.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Housotn Texans lnieback Azeez Al-Shaair (0) gets his teammates going as they huddle rip before an NFL divisional playoff football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk, right, celebrates with wide receiver Nico Collins after a 6-yard touchdown during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Pittsburgh, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.<\/p>\n
Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (30) is tackled by the Houston Texans defensive during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Pittsburgh, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.<\/p>\n
Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Houston Texans running back Woody Marks (27) reacts after running for a 13-yard touchdown during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Pittsburgh, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.<\/p>\n
Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Houston Texans defensive tackle Tommy Togiai (72) reacts after making a tackle during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Pittsburgh, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
The Houston Texans will be wracking up their frequent flyer miles in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mostly because of an\u00a0international game against the Jaguars<\/a> in London in October, Houston will travel more than 28,400 miles for its games, which ranks No. 3 in the NFL, according Bill Sperios, a market analyst for\u00a0Bookies.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition, the Texans will be playing in four prime-time games, the same number they had in 2025, and likely in large part because of their consistency as one of the top teams in the AFC.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n All of their prime-time games come in the second-half of the season, including two Thursday Night Football games on Amazon Prime. The first will be against the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 19, and the other is against the Philadelphia Eagles on Christmas Eve.\u00a0<\/p>\n They\u2019ll also face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football on Dec. 6 in a rematch from their wild-card playoff game earlier this year. And their final prime-time game will be an ESPN Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 4.\u00a0<\/p>\n PRESEASON<\/p>\n Week<\/p>\n Day<\/p>\n Date<\/p>\n Opponent <\/p>\n TV Network<\/p>\n Kickoff Time\u00a0 <\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n Thursday<\/p>\n Aug. 13<\/p>\n LOS ANGELES CHARGERS<\/p>\n ABC-13 KTRK<\/p>\n 7 p.m.<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n Thursday<\/p>\n Aug. 20<\/p>\n LAS VEGAS RAIDERS<\/p>\n ESPN<\/p>\n 7 p.m.<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Friday<\/p>\n Aug. 28<\/p>\n at Carolina Panthers<\/p>\n ABC-13\/KTRK<\/p>\n 6 p.m.<\/p>\n REGULAR SEASON<\/p>\n Week<\/p>\n Day<\/p>\n Date<\/p>\n Opponent<\/p>\n TV Network<\/p>\n Kickoff Time<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Sept. 13<\/p>\n BUFFALO BILLS<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n Noon<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Sept. 20<\/p>\n CINCINNATI BENGALS<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n Noon<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Sept. 27<\/p>\n at Indianapolis Colts<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n Noon<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Oct. 4<\/p>\n DALLAS COWBOYS<\/p>\n FOX<\/p>\n Noon<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Oct. 11<\/p>\n at Tennessee Titans<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n Noon<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Oct. 18<\/p>\n vs Jacksonville Jaguars (Wembley)<\/p>\n NFLN<\/p>\n 8:30 a.m.<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Oct. 25<\/p>\n NEW YORK GIANTS<\/p>\n FOX<\/p>\n Noon<\/p>\n 8<\/p>\n BYE<\/p>\n 9<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Nov. 8<\/p>\n at Los Angeles Chargers<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n 3:05 p.m.<\/p>\n 10<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Nov. 15<\/p>\n at Cleveland Browns<\/p>\n FOX<\/p>\n Noon<\/p>\n 11<\/p>\n Thursday<\/p>\n Nov. 19<\/p>\n INDIANAPOLIS COLTS<\/p>\n PRIME<\/p>\n 7:15 p.m.<\/p>\n 12<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Nov. 29<\/p>\n BALTIMORE RAVENS<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n Noon<\/p>\n 13<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Dec. 6<\/p>\n at Pittsburgh Steelers<\/p>\n NBC<\/p>\n 7:20 p.m.<\/p>\n 14<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Dec. 13<\/p>\n at Washington Commanders<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n Noon<\/p>\n 15<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n Dec. 20<\/p>\n JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n Noon<\/p>\n 16<\/p>\n Thursday<\/p>\n Dec. 24<\/p>\n at Philadelphia Eagles<\/p>\n PRIME<\/p>\n 7:15 p.m.<\/p>\n 17<\/p>\n Monday<\/p>\n Jan. 4<\/p>\n at Green Bay Packers<\/p>\n ESPN<\/p>\n 7:15 p.m.<\/p>\n 18<\/p>\n TBD<\/p>\n TBD<\/p>\n TENNESSEE TITANS<\/p>\n TBD<\/p>\n TBD<\/p>\n Keys to a 1-0 start<\/p>\n The Texans lost their season-opener in 2025 to the Rams, which eventually ballooned to a 0-3 start. Getting out to a quicker start will be a priority.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Texans open their 25th season at home against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 13, in what will be an early test for the Texans\u2019 defense, which is bringing back most of its starters from 2025 when it was ranked No. 1 overall.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Texans have had quarterback Josh Allen\u2019s number in recent years. They sacked him eight times in their 23-19 win last season and held him to 131 yards passing in a 23-20 win in 2024.<\/p>\n But these games always seem to be close, often coming down to the last drive with the defense needing to make a stop. The Texans must do what they\u2019ve done in those last two wins.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stop the run and use that to get pressure on Allen on third down.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Must-watch game<\/p>\n The Christmas Eve game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football is arguably the toughest on the schedule, and a win on the road in a hostile environment could go a long way in gaining momentum down the stretch.\u00a0<\/p>\n All eyes will be on this game in front of a prime-time audience. The Eagles have been one of the more consistent and balanced teams in recent years. They\u2019ve been to the Super Bowl in two of the past four seasons, winning in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n The key will be stopping running back Saquon Barkley, who won the NFL\u2019s offensive player of the year in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n Easiest stretch<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to call any set of games in the NFL easy. And Houston\u2019s schedule is littered with tough games. But if there is one easy stretch, it has to be when the Texans play the Titans, Jaguars, and Giants in consecutive weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Giants and Titans were among the worst teams in the league last year, and while they\u2019ll both improve this season, the talent on those teams doesn\u2019t compare to the talent elsewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n Toughest stretch<\/p>\n Three of the Texans final four opponents were playoff teams in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019ll start with the Jaguars in on Dec. 20 in their second matchup of the season series. Each of the last five games between these two teams has been decided by seven points or less.\u00a0<\/p>\n After the Jaguars game, bring your coats. The Texans go on the road on short rest to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 24 on Thursday Night Football. The Eagles have consistently been one of the top teams in the league, and this one will be in a hostile environment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n And finally, they\u2019ll conclude this stretch at Green Bay on Jan. 4 on ESPN\u2019s Monday Night Football. It often snows in January in Green Bay. And the last time Houston played in snowy weather, it didn\u2019t go particularly well.\u00a0<\/p>\n One to not overlook<\/p>\n The Texans destroyed the Ravens last season 44-10 in Baltimore, but the Ravens were missing many of their top players, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, who remains the most dangerous player in the league.<\/p>\n Now he has a new coach and offensive system. Who knows what it\u2019ll look like with Jackson and running back Derrick Henry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A game Houston can\u2019t afford to lose<\/p>\n The second game against the Jaguars on Dec. 20 is the beginning of a three-game stretch against 2025\u00a0 playoff teams to close out the season. A win here, against a division opponent, could give Houston much needed momentum down the stretch. A loss could loosen its grasp on the division and maybe a playoff berth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n When is the open week?\u00a0<\/p>\n The Texans have an open week on Nov. 1, the eighth week of the season and two weeks after their London game on Oct. 18. The Texans would have probably preferred to have the open week right after the London game. But this could prove favorable because it comes in the middle of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n Predicted record:\u00a012-5<\/p>\n The Texans play a second-place schedule and will be motivated to host as many postseason games as possible this year. They\u2019ll start the season much quicker than last year and will end the season as one of the top two seeds in the AFC.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll post a game-by-game prediction on Friday.<\/p>\n Predicted AFC South finish: First<\/p>\n 1. Texans
2. Titans
3. Jaguars
4. Colts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans runs to celebrate with his team after a pick six against the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-271875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}