The NFL will release the schedule of games for the upcoming 2026-2027 season on Thursday, May 14th. This will allow fans to know when and where their favorite teams will play their games. Travel arrangements, party schedules and getting minds prepared for when to go full-on berserker mode can start in earnest.
In one respect, it is a bit odd that we all get pumped for the schedule release. Since the last day of the regular season, every team knows who they will face next season. They can expect two
games against division foes, games against a designated conference and non-conference division, games against conference foes that finished in the same place in their respective divisions (second place teams play second place teams, etc) and a one-off game against a non-conference opponent. For Houston, this is who they get for the up-coming season:
Accounting for all that we know and still need to know, a few pre-schedule release thoughts:
No shortage of good prime-time options for the team. Last season, the Texans ended up with 4 designated prime-time games. Given that the team made yet another run into the top 8 and that they are expected to once again contend, 3 to 4 primetime slots seem likely to be Houston’s future. As for what games are likely to get such attention, there are a few options:
There are some intriguing non-conference matchups for Houston that could get prime-time coverage. Their duel with in-state (or in-region rival Dallas, depending on whether you view Dallas as a part of Texas or merely Deep Southern Oklahoma/Deep Southwest Arkansas) seems likely to get some prime-time love, as their last matchup was on Monday Night Football and their last Houston-based matchup was on Sunday Night Football. You could see two tough defenses get some prime-time attention when Houston travels to Philadelphia. The matchup against Green Bay seems like a primetime type game. I suppose to get some love with the largest media market, you could see the Giants of New York who have played in New Jersey for over 50 years get a primetime date. Yeah, you could talk yourself into any of the NFC matchups getting primetime love.
Yet the options are not limited to the NFC. No shortage of options for the AFC, as Houston could see its playoff rematch with the Steelers get national coverage, along with a duel against Baltimore. The strength-on-strength matchup between the Bengals offense and Houston’s defense could warrant some prime-time love, as could Houston and Buffalo dueling again. One can’t rule out another primetime matchup with the LA Chargers, as that might again be a game that comes down to the 4th quarter.
Will Houston’s home opener be on primetime yet again? The last two seasons saw Houston’s first home game on primetime, with 2024’s home opener against the Bears on Sunday Night Football, and the 2025 Liberty White Opener against Tampa Bay on Monday Night Football. That wouldn’t be the worst tradition for the NFL to allow to happen, although the quality of the games for Houston fans might be subject to question as we saw with a slugfest of a win against Chicago and a painful walk-off loss against the Buccaneers.
Another tradition, ending or starting the season with a matchup against the Colts? For some reason, the NFL likes to either start or end the season with the Colts and Texans duking it out. Since 2022, the Texans and Colts have either opened the season (2022, 2024) or ended the season (2023, 2025) facing off against each other. If this pattern holds, may throw a couple of bucks in the prediction markets on Indianapolis and Houston kicking off their 2026 seasons against each other.
Will the Houston Texans need to get some passports? In the leadup to the NFL’s schedule release, strategic leaks will filter out in the days prior, especially if teams are slated for international matchups. As Houston has 9 road games this year, one of those could very much be international. They’ve only played two international games (2016 in Mexico City and 2019 in England). Of note, the NFL will play 3 games in England, with Jacksonville hosting two and the Washington Commanders hosting the other, and both are on the Texans’ schedule. The other international options are not feasible for Houston as they have opponents not on the 2026-2027 lineup. Perhaps Houston and Jacksonville reprise their 2019 matchup in England, which actually turned out pretty well for the Battle Red (even if we never speak of the starting QB for that game).
How will they juggle the road slate of games and what of the bye? Last season, Houston’s home schedule was back-loaded, playing most of their 9 home games later in the year after opening with a relatively road-heavy schedule (4 of their 1st 6 games were on the road). Will the load be a bit more spread out/balanced? Also, what is the plan for the bye? If Houston must trek across the pond, it is likely that a bye will be around that particular game. Will be absurdly early like last season (Week 6), absurdly late (Week 14 in 2024), or will it be a bit more mid-season? That will be interesting to see, especially for a team that will likely play a physical brand of football, as a later bye would seem more beneficial. Then again, Houston’s tough defense only got an early break in the season last year and it didn’t hurt them all that much at the end of the year.
This is not an all-inclusive list of questions associated with the schedule. Likely you, the interweb-based reader, will have your own questions. Likely, the schedule release this coming Thursday will answer a number of those questions. However, newer questions will emerge. Until then, see you at the schedule release.
