It's the second year of the 17-game schedule and now, being in the AFC, the Texans have nine road regular season games for the first time ever. And get this – six of them are against teams that have a new head coach; Las Vegas, Chicago, Denver, Miami, New York Giants and Jacksonville. That hardly means these are lay ups. Vegas and Miami had winning records. And the Raiders and Jags have head coaches getting their second shot, but it's worth noting.  

From a sheer fan road trip standpoint, this might be the best layout of destination cities in franchise history. With the trips to Dallas, Chicago, New York, Miami, Las Vegas and Denver, it'll be a tough call as to where you'd most like to travel. And before the geography police tell me that the Giants play in New Jersey, let me point out that the stadium is right across the Hudson River from Manhattan, so you'll have all of New York at your disposal if you make the journey.

The Texans have been to Miami five times, including last season. But it's always fun to go there. And the trip to Chicago will be only the third time being in the windy city with fans present, as the game two years ago was played at empty Soldier Field due to the pandemic.

When the Miami Heat started to play well in the 1990's a lot of experts pointed to South Beach as a big reason for the home court advantage. Well, shouldn't the Raiders be enjoying a similar edge in Vegas? I say no, because the NFL is a one night visit and the players are on a strict curfew. Still, for the fans, this is an easy flight from just about anywhere with no limit on hotel space and entertaining things to do.

Denver has a terrific downtown and the outskirts of the city are breathtaking. Speaking of breathing, yes, flying to the mile-high atmosphere does have a slight effect. But you'll get over it as you gear up for NFL excitement.

Of course I'm not going to leave out the divisional games. Trips to Jacksonville, Nashville and Indianapolis are fun and have relatively easy airport access. If you've never been to see a Texans game away from NRG Stadium, you can't go wrong venturing to a divisional city.

But the crown jewel of this year's road schedule is the date at Dallas. This is only the third time visiting the Cowboys. 2006 was at the old Texas stadium, which wasn't in good shape but was dripping with history. In 2014 the Texans went to Arlington and lost in overtime in an epic showdown. The stadium was filled with Battle-Red-clad Texans fans and Tony Romo had to go to a silent count in his own building. Here's hoping for another great Texans turnout with a winning result.

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