Texans to meet Patriots for 1st time in preseason

The Texans are set to play the New England Patriots in their first-ever preseason matchup. Houston will host the Super Bowl 51 champions for the Week 2 preseason game which will take place between Aug. 17 through Aug. 21.The two teams have squared off in the regular season seven times and twice in the postseason, but never in preseason. The Texans traveled to Gillette Stadium twice in 2016, for the Week 3 Thursday Night Football game and the AFC Divisional game. Houston will see a lot of Bill Belichick and the Patriots in 2017 too. The reigning Super Bowl champions will host the Texans for a regular season game. The 2017 regular season schedule has not yet been released by the NFL. The Texans have several coaching and playing ties to Bill Belichick and the Patriots staff. Bill O’Brien began his NFL coaching career in New England. Assistant head coach Romeo Crennel, defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel, and special teams coordinator Larry Izzo earned three Super Bowl titles (2001, 2003, 2004) with New England. Offensive and special teams assistant coach Wes Welker played six seasons (2007-2012) for the Patriots, earning two-time All-Pro honors (2009, 2011) and five consecutive Pro Bowl berths (2008-2012). For the full 2017 preseason schedule, click here.Twitter.com/DeepSlant