The NFL regular-season schedule is released today at 6 p.m. CT, revealing - among other things - how many prime time games the the Texans will have, who they'll open the season with, when they'll play the Cowboys at Reliant Stadium and whether they'll travel to New York to play the Jets on Thanksgiving night, **as was rumored** earlier this offseason.
For now, one clue about the schedule has been let out. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, in an apperance on ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike in the Morning" show today, said that the schedule will **feature only division games in Week 17**. The commissioner previously indicated concern about the lack of competitiveness in some Week 17 games, caused by teams already having clinched a spot in the playoffs or having been eliminated from them.
So, obviously, that leaves the Texans with either the Colts, Titans or Jaguars in Week 17. The last time the Texans finished the season against a division opponent was in 2007, when they **beat Jacksonville 42-28 at Reliant Stadium** to finish 8-8 for the first time in franchise history. Goodell told "Mike & Mike" that there will be 28 divisional games in the last three weeks of the season, up from 15 in 2009.
As for primetime games, the most the Texans ever had in one season is two (2005). They've had one in each of the past three seasons: a Thursday nighter in 2007 and a Monday night game in both 2008 and 2009.
We'll know soon enough whether the Texans get more primetime games in 2010. As soon as 6 p.m. rolls around, we'll have the full schedule and plenty of commentary about it up on HoustonTexans.com.
