The Houston Texans 2013 schedule will give Matt Schaub and Co. plenty of chances to prove they're Super Bowl worthy.
Gary Kubiak's team plays both Super Bowl teams from last season — with an Oct. 6 Sunday Night Football showcase at the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers, which already jumps off the page as one of the games of the season, and a Sept. 22 date at league champion Baltimore. And that's just the tip of this super slate — revealed, as almost everything is revealed in the NFL these days, in a TV special.
The Texans — coming off two straight playoff appearances and two straight second round losses — will play six teams that finished in the Top 10 of the NFL's final power poll from last season.
Besides the 49ers and Ravens, there are home games against the Seattle Seahawks (Sept. 29), those Texans' nemesis New England Patriots (Dec. 1) and the Denver Broncos (Dec. 22) as well as the AFC South home and away with the Indianapolis Colts (a NBC Sunday nighter Nov. 3 at Reliant Stadium and a Dec. 15 date in Indy.)
The Texans will play six teams that finished in the Top 10 of the NFL's final power poll from last season.
Four of those seven power team games are at home though, in contrast to last season when the Texans' biggest games almost all seemed to fall on the road.
“Well, those are obviously top playoff football teams," Kubiak said, "but the thing that jumped at me probably more than anything was that four out of our last six are on the road, three out of our last four are on the road — and they’re division games — and they squeezed in the Patriots and the Broncos in there, so we’d better be good there at the end, but we just need to be a good football team.
"It’s going to be a tough schedule."
It starts with a Sept. 9 Monday Night Football national showcase at San Diego, with the Texans playing the somewhat dreaded second game of ESPN's opening weekend doubleheader (it will be a 9:20 p.m. kickoff in Houston). This means that the Texans and Chargers will be the last two teams in the NFL to open their seasons.
"We’ll be sitting around watching a lot of football opening weekend before we get a chance to play and contribute," Kubiak said. "But I think it’s a good opener. Obviously, it’s going to take great focus to go on the road Monday night to start the season the right way."
Reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt and free agent game changer Ed Reed will have to be on for the Texans to keep a murderer's row of quarterbacks in check. Besides familiar faces Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Joe Flacco and Andrew Luck, the revamped Bulls On Parade defense of Wade Phillips will be challenged by young read-option terrors Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson as well.
At least, there's no Aaron Rodgers on the schedule this season.
The Texans aren't bowed though. They're eager to build on back-to-back 11 and 13-win seasons (including playoff Ws).
"I think we’ve got a very tough schedule, which you’re going to have when you go out there and win 12 games," Kubiak said. ". . . Looking forward to it."
The Houston Texans 2013 Schedule
Sept. 9 at San Diego Chargers, 9:20 p.m.
Sept. 15 vs. Tennessee Titans, noon
Sept. 22 at Baltimore Ravens, noon
Sept. 29 vs. Seattle Seahawks, noon
Oct. 6 at San Francisco 49ers, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 13 vs. St. Louis Rams, noon
Oct. 20 at Kansas City Chiefs, noon
Oct. 27 Bye Week
Nov. 3 vs. Indianapolis Colts, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 10 at Arizona Cardinals, 3:25 p.m.
Nov. 17 vs. Oakland Raiders, noon
Nov. 24 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, noon
Dec. 1 vs. New England Patriots, 3:35 p.m.
Dec. 5 at Jacksonville Jaguars (Thursday nighter), 7:25 p.m.
Dec. 15 at Indianapolis Colts, noon
Dec. 22 vs. Denver Broncos, noon
Dec. 29 at Tennessee Titans, noon
The Houston Texans and Andre Johnson will try to upend the Baltimore Ravens in the regular season again. Only Ed Reed is on their side now.
