HOUSTON (AP) â€" The Houston Texans will play at least five nationally televised games in 2012, including two on Monday night and their first ever on Thanksgiving.
Houston went 10-6 last season and earned the franchise's first playoff berth with its first AFC South title.
The new schedule, released April 17, includes Monday night games against Tim Tebow and the New York Jets (Oct. 8) and Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (Dec. 10), along with a Thanksgiving game against Detroit (Nov. 22). Even more games could end up in prime time, depending on flex scheduling.
"That's a credit to the team, the players and the job they did," Houston coach Gary Kubiak said. "So we do get some opportunities to play in some big prime time-type football games.
"Our games, throughout the season, are kind of all over the map, so that's a big challenge for us, but it's one that I'm looking forward to," he said. "We knew we had a tough schedule coming, and that's part of it, but we'll be ready to go."
Houston plays its third game at Denver on Sept. 23, a game rich with subplots.
New Denver quarterback Peyton Manning again will face the team he used to dominate when he played for Indianapolis. Kubiak played quarterback for the Broncos from 1983-91 and backed up John Elway, now Denver's executive vice president for football operations. Kubiak also was Denver's offensive coordinator from 1995-2005. He's 1-1 against the Broncos as a head coach.
The Broncos also picked up former Houston tight end Joel Dreessen in free agency. Dreessen played at Colorado State and caught six touchdown passes for Houston in 2011, his fifth season with the Texans.
Another game with a juicy twist is the Nov. 4 game against Buffalo, the team that landed Mario Williams in free agency. Houston's career sacks leader (53) was the most coveted defensive prize, and the Bills signed him with a six-year contract worth up to $100 million.
Williams missed most of last season with a torn chest muscle, but he had matured into a cornerstone of the defense since the Texans made him the No. 1 overall pick in 2006.
The Texans host Baltimore on Oct. 21 in a rematch of last year's AFC divisional playoff, won by the Ravens 20-13. The Texans and Ravens played an overtime thriller at Reliant Stadium in December 2010, which Baltimore won 34-28.
Houston opens the regular season at Reliant Stadium, for the sixth time in Kubiak's seven seasons, against Miami. Houston is 6-0 against the Dolphins and has won three previous home matchups.
"It's nice to open at home," Kubiak said. "It's a few years in a row that we've had the chance to do that. We've had some great games with Miami. It seems like we've played them every year since I've been here."
Houston gets its bye in Week 8, after back-to-back home games â€" a Sunday night game against Green Bay on Oct. 14 and the Baltimore game the following week.
"I like it," Kubiak said. "Any time it's close to the middle is good. You never know how it's going to pan out for your team as far as is it a good time? Do you need some extra time to get some guys healthy? I think anytime you're somewhere there in the middle, it gives you a break and gets you ready for the back end."
The Texans play four of their six divisional games after the bye. They face the Colts in two of their final three regular-season games.
"Those division games just carry so much weight," Kubiak said. "We've always had some big games against those guys. Hopefully, we've got ourselves in position right there, that those games are really, really big games for both of us and we can take care of our business."
The Texans play at Chicago on Nov. 11, the fifth game scheduled for national TV. Houston returns to Chicago for the first time since a 24-5 victory Dec. 19, 2004.
Houston will face three of the NFL's top five offenses (New England, Green Bay and Detroit) from 2011, and three of the top 10 defenses (Baltimore, New York Jets and Jacksonville). The Patriots had the league's second-ranked passing offense last season.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment