Houston Texans Announce 2020 Schedule

The Houston Texans 2020 regular season schedule kicks off with a primetime matchup at the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football. The Texans will also travel to Detroit for a Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions on national television in Week 12. Houston has won six of its last seven primetime matchups and its 18 primetime regular season games from 2016-20 are the most over a five-year span in team history.

The Texans start at Kansas City on September 10, which marks the first time in franchise history opening the season on Thursday Night Football and second-consecutive nationally televised season opener on the road. Houston will face the defending Super Bowl champions for the sixth-consecutive year after playing New England in 2015, Denver in 2016, New England in 2017, Philadelphia in 2018 and New England in 2019. The Texans open on the road for the seventh time in 19 years and in primetime for just the fourth time in franchise history (2002, 2013, 2019).

Houston's home opener will be in Week 2 when it hosts the Baltimore Ravens before traveling to Pittsburgh for a matchup with the Steelers on September 27. The Texans are scheduled to play every AFC North team for the seventh time in team history and first since 2017. The trip to Pittsburgh is followed by back-to-back home games against the Minnesota Vikings on October 4 and Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5, which will mark Houston's first divisional game of the year.

In Week 6, Houston will travel to take on the division-rival Tennessee Titans for the first of two matchups on the year before returning to NRG Stadium to host the Green Bay Packers on October 25. This season marks the fifth time in franchise history and first time since 2016 that Houston will take on each member of the NFC North. Houston's matchup against the Packers in Week 7 is immediately followed by a bye in Week 8, which marks the first Week 8 bye for Houston since 2013.

Houston will go on the road for two consecutive road games in Weeks 9-10 as it takes on Jacksonville before traveling to face the Cleveland Browns on November 15. Houston is on a five-game winning streak against Cleveland (2008-18), which marks its longest active winning streak against any opponent. The Texans return home in Week 11 to face the Patriots, which marks the sixth-consecutive season Houston has faced New England in the regular season, including a 28-22 victory in 2019.

The Texans play their second primetime game of the 2020 season against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day in Week 12. Houston defeated Detroit 34-31 in overtime in 2012 on their first Thanksgiving appearance and have won each of the last three meetings in the series. In Week 13, the Texans face the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium for the first of two matchups in a three-week span. The Texans are looking to win three-consecutive AFC South division titles for the first time in franchise history and become the second team to accomplish the feat in the division's history, joining the Colts in 2005-07. Houston's final two road games of the season are in Weeks 14-15 and start with a matchup against the Chicago Bears, who are the only team in the NFL that Houston is undefeated against in franchise history (4-0).

The Texans will close out the regular season with consecutive home games for the fourth time in team history (2003, 2006, 2014). In Week 16, Houston will look for its ninth win in the last 10 matchups against the Cincinnati Bengals, dating back to 2008. The Texans will then close out the year with a home game against the Titans on January 3, which marks the 14th time in team history and the 11th year in a row that Houston will close the regular season against a divisional opponent.

The exact dates and times for the preseason games will be released at a later date. Houston will open the preseason on the road against Minnesota for the fifth preseason matchup between the two teams (2009, 2011, 2012, 2013) before hosting the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2 for the teams' first-ever preseason matchup. The Texans will face the Saints for the 11th time in the preseason (2002, 2008-13, 2015-17) in New Orleans in Week 3 before welcoming the in-state rival Dallas Cowboys to NRG Stadium to close out the preseason. This will mark the 12th preseason matchup between the two Texas franchises (2003-05, 2007-08, 2010, 2013, 2015-16, 2018-19), including the third season in a row.

All kickoff times are Central; # - Televised Nationally; Home Games in BOLD

All games are broadcast live on Texans Radio on SportsRadio 610, 100.3 The Bull and in Spanish on Mega 101 FM.

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING

• "Flexible scheduling" will be used in Weeks 11-17. Additionally, in Weeks 5-10, flexible scheduling may be used in no more than two weeks. In Weeks 5-16, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to an afternoon start time.
• For Week 17, the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to January 3. The schedule does not list a Sunday night game in Week 17, but an afternoon game with playoff implications will be moved to that time slot. Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks and gives "surprise" teams a chance to play their way into primetime.
• Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday or Monday nights.
• A select number of games will be "cross-flexed," moving between CBS and FOX to bring potentially under-distributed games to wider audiences. Some of those contests were announced today and other "cross-flexed" games will be decided during the season.

2020 HOUSTON TEXANS SCHEDULE NOTES

Primetime/National TV Notes

• The Texans will play two games on national television during the regular season, including Thanksgiving Day at Detroit. The Texans have played 41 primetime games in team history and have won six of their last seven primetime matchups.
• Houston will open the season on NBC's Thursday Night Football against the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs on September 10, which marks the first time in franchise history that the Texans have opened the season on Thursday Night Football and the second-consecutive year the Texans have opened the season on national television.
• The Texans will be featured on Thanksgiving against the Lions for the second time in team history. Houston defeated Detroit 34-31 in overtime on Thanksgiving Day in 2012.
• Houston's 18 primetime regular season games from 2016-20 are the most in team history over a five-year span.

Strength of Schedule Notes

• Houston's 2020 opponents were 132-123-1 for a winning percentage of .518 in 2019.
• The Texans will face five of the top-10 scoring offenses from 2019: Baltimore (first, 33.2 points per game), Kansas City (fifth, 28.2 points per game), New England (seventh, 26.3 points per game), Minnesota (eight, 25.4 points per game) and Tennessee (10th, 25.1 points per game).
• Houston will face seven of the top-10 scoring defenses from 2019: New England (first, 14.1 opponent points per game), Baltimore (third, 17.6 points per game), Chicago (fourth, 18.6 points per game), Pittsburgh (tied for fifth, 18.9 points per game), Minnesota (tied for fifth, 18.9 points per game), Kansas City (seventh, 19.3 points per game) and Green Bay (ninth, 19.6 opponent points per game).
• Houston will play seven games against teams that made the playoffs in 2019: Baltimore (14-2), Green Bay (13-3), Kansas City (12-4), New England (12-4), Minnesota (10-6) and Tennessee (9-7, twice).

Home and Away Notes

• Houston opens on the road for the seventh time in 19 years and will open in primetime for just the fourth time in franchise history (2002, 2013, 2019). The Texans are 2-1 in season-opening primetime games.
• The Texans will play back-to-back home games twice this season, Weeks 4-5 versus Minnesota and Jacksonville and again in Weeks 16-17 against Cincinnati and Tennessee. This marks the fourth time in franchise history the Texans will close out the season with consecutive home games (2003, 2006, 2014).
• The Texans will play back-to-back road games twice during the season, Weeks 9-10 against Jacksonville and Cleveland and again in Weeks 14-15 against Chicago and Indianapolis.
• The Texans are scheduled to travel approximately 14,362 miles for their eight regular season road games.

AFC South Notes

• The Texans close out the regular season against a divisional opponent for the 14th time in franchise history and the 11th year in a row. Houston faced the Titans in Week 17 of the 2019 season.
• Houston's record against division opponents is 23-13 (.639) under Head Coach Bill O'Brien. The Texans' 23 wins against the division since 2014 are tied for the fifth-most in the NFL over that span. The Texans are 10-2 against the Jaguars, 8-4 against the Titans and 5-7 against the Colts under O'Brien (2014-20).
• The Texans are looking to win three-consecutive AFC South division titles for the first time in franchise history and become the second team to accomplish the feat in the division's history, joining the Colts in 2005-07.

AFC North Notes

• Houston will play every team in the AFC North for the seventh time in team history. The Texans also faced the AFC North in 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2017.
• Houston holds an 8-4 advantage all-time against the Bengals, including 6-4 in the regular season and 2-0 in the postseason. The Texans have won eight of the last nine matchups, including the playoffs, dating back to 2008.
• Houston is on a five-game winning streak against Cleveland (2008-18), which marks its longest active winning streak against any opponent. The Texans have also won seven of the last eight matchups against the Browns since 2005.

NFC North Notes

• The Texans will face all four NFC North teams for the fifth time in franchise history. The Texans also faced the NFC North in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 and hold an 8-8 record all-time against the division.
• Chicago is the only team in the NFL that Houston is undefeated against in franchise history (4-0) and the Texans have outscored the Bears 91-49 in the all-time series.
• Houston is 3-1 all-time against Detroit and have won each of the last three meetings, including a 34-31 overtime victory on the road in 2012.

Chiefs and Patriots Notes

• The Texans are 5-5 in the regular season all-time against the Chiefs, including a 31-24 victory in Week 6 of the 2019 season. The two teams have also met twice in the postseason (2016, 2019).
• Houston will face the defending Super Bowl champions (Kansas City) for the sixth-consecutive season after playing New England in 2015, Denver in 2016, New England in 2017, Philadelphia in 2018 and New England in 2019.
• This will be the sixth-consecutive season Houston has faced New England in the regular season, including the Texans' 28-22 victory at NRG Stadium in 2019. The two teams have also met twice in the playoffs (2012, 2016).