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          NFL Nation

          Houston Texans' schedule 2020: Superstar September QB matchups

          • Sarah Barshop, ESPN Staff WriterMay 8, 2020, 12:18 AM
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              Sarah Barshop covers the Los Angeles Rams for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Green Bay Packers for ESPN Milwaukee. She then moved to Houston to cover the Texans. She came to ESPN after working as a writer and editor for Sports Illustrated. You can follow her on Twitter @sarahbarshop.
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          The Houston Texans' schedule for 2020 was released Thursday.

          The regular season kicks off with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Texans on Thursday, Sept. 10 (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). The opening doubleheader for Monday Night Football on Sept. 14 will feature the Pittsburgh Steelers at the New York Giants (7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN) and the Tennessee Titans at the Denver Broncos (10:20 p.m. ET).

          Check out the full week-by-week schedule here. Here’s what is in store for the Texans:

          Game-by-game prediction

          Texans reporter Sarah Barshop is predicting a 9-7 finish:

          Sept. 10: at Kansas City Chiefs, Loss

          Sept. 20: vs. Baltimore Ravens, Loss

          Sept. 27: at Pittsburgh Steelers, Win

          Oct. 4: vs. Minnesota Vikings, Loss

          Oct. 11: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, Win

          Oct. 18: at Tennessee Titans, Loss

          Oct. 25: vs. Green Bay Packers, Loss

          Nov. 1: Bye

          Nov. 8: at Jacksonville Jaguars, Win

          Nov. 15: at Cleveland Browns, Win

          Nov. 22: vs. New England Patriots, Win

          Nov. 26: at Detroit Lions, Win

          Dec. 6: vs. Indianapolis Colts, Win

          Dec. 13: at Chicago Bears, Loss

          Dec. 19 or 20: at Indianapolis Colts, Loss

          Dec. 27: vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Win

          Jan. 3: vs. Tennessee Titans, Win

          Strength of schedule: .518 (eighth hardest)

          Breakdown

          For the second year in a row, the Texans will open in a prime-time game, this time against the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Houston is 2-1 in season-opening prime-time games. The Texans will play seven games against teams that made the playoffs in 2019: Baltimore, Green Bay, Kansas City, New England, Minnesota and Tennessee (twice). Houston will play the Lions on Thanksgiving for the second time in franchise history and the first time since beating Detroit in overtime in 2012. Although Houston opens with a big national TV game against the Chiefs, that is its only scheduled night game of the season. Houston won’t play on Monday Night Football for the first time since 2011.

          Superstar QB matchups

          Quarterback Deshaun Watson will go head-to-head with two of the premier players at his position in 2020 early in the season, with games against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs (Week 1) and Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens (Week 2). The Texans went 1-1 against the same two teams during the 2019 regular season and lost to the Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs, blowing a 24-0 lead. The Texans have the hardest strength of schedule in the first four weeks this season based on their opponents' 2019 records. Houston's first four opponents (Chiefs, Ravens, Steelers, Vikings) went a combined 44-20 last season.

          Family reunion

          While J.J. Watt got to play against brother Derek in 2019, the three Watt brothers will get an even bigger reunion next season. In March, fullback Derek Watt signed a three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, joining T.J. Watt, who is coming off a breakout season on the Steelers’ defensive line. All three are scheduled to play in the same game in Week 3. J.J.’s Texans beat Derek’s Chargers in 2019, and the Steelers and Chargers have split the two matchups since T.J. was drafted.