HOUSTON - In the schedule released by the NFL today, the Houston Texans will host Dallas and Tampa Bay in Reliant Stadium with road trips to Denver and Pittsburgh to round out 2004 preseason play.
The Texans will open up the 2004 preseason when they play host to the Dallas Cowboys in Reliant Stadium (August 13-14). The two clubs have met twice before, once in the preseason (8/15/03) and once in the regular season (9/8/02). The last time Dallas played in Reliant Stadium was on "Opening Night" when the Texans won the first game in franchise history with a 19-10 victory. The Texans most recent game against Dallas was a 34-6 loss in Texas Stadium last preseason.
The following week (August 20-21), the Texans will travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers in Heinz Field for the second time in team history (first preseason game vs. Pittsburgh). The first meeting was on Dec. 8, 2002 when the Texans won their most convincing game in team history, a 24-6 defensive effort led by CB Aaron Glenn (two interceptions for TDs).
In what will be the second meeting between the two teams, the Texans will play their second-consecutive preseason road game in 2004 at Denver in INVESCO Field at Mile High (August 27-28). It will mark the Texans first trip to Denver in their short history. The Texans hosted the Broncos in a 20-12 losing effort to open the 2003 preseason.
The Texans will finish off the 2004 preseason in Reliant Stadium against Tampa Bay (Sept. 2-3) for their third-consecutive preseason meeting against the Bucs. Tampa Bay was victorious in their two previous preseason games on Aug. 30, 2002 in Reliant Stadium (17-13) and August 28, 2003 in Raymond James Stadium (34-3).
Dates,
times and television participants of all preseason games will be
released at a later date. The NFL will release the Texans 2004
regular season schedule in April/May.
