After three consecutive trips to the divisional round, the Houston Texans have established themselves as contenders. The team went 12-5 last season and entered the playoffs riding nine consecutive wins. A 30-6 wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers delivered the franchise’s first road playoff win, before a five-turnover loss against the New England Patriots ended any hopes of Houston’s first AFC title game appearance.DeMeco Ryans heads into his fourth season as head coach, with Matt Burke back as defensive coordinator. Houston’s nasty defense stays mostly intact, highlighted by the likes of Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter. Last year, the relentless unit boasted top-three rankings in points allowed, yards allowed and takeaways.But to take the next step, the Texans need more from their offense. Houston made several offseason moves designed to retool the offense. The team traded for running back David Montgomery and receiver Kayshon Boutte, and signed veteran linemen Braden Smith and Wyatt Teller. Its most important pieces remain in place, though. C.J. Stroud returns in a critical year for the quarterback, Nico Collins is still his top target and Tank Dell is working his way back from the catastrophic knee injury that cost him the entire 2025 season.The schedule offers plenty of national exposure: Houston has four primetime games in the back half of the schedule, most notably a Christmas Eve showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Texans also have Week 6 trip to Wembley Stadium to face the Jacksonville Jaguars.Be sure to follow the Texans on The Athletic. Scoop City delivers updates from around the NFL, “The Athletic Football Show” breaks down the league in depth, and the national staff covers everything from power rankings and fantasy football to injuries, transactions and feature reporting.All times listed below are ET.The full 2026 Houston Texans schedule Wk.MatchupDateTimeNetwork1 Bills Sunday, Sept. 13 1:00 p.m. CBS 2 Bengals Sunday, Sept. 20 1:00 p.m. CBS 3@ Colts Sunday, Sept. 27 1:00 p.m. CBS 4 Cowboys Sunday, Oct. 4 1:00 p.m. Fox 5@ Titans Sunday, Oct. 11 1:00 p.m. CBS 6@ Jaguars Sunday, Oct. 18London 9:30 a.m. NFL Network 7 Giants Sunday, Oct. 25 1:00 p.m. Fox 8 BYE 9@ Chargers Sunday, Nov. 8 4:05 p.m. CBS 10@ Browns Sunday, Nov. 15 1:00 p.m. Fox 11 Colts Thursday, Nov. 19 8:15 p.m. Prime 12 Ravens Sunday, Nov. 29 1:00 p.m. CBS 13@ Steelers Sunday, Dec. 6 8:20 p.m. NBC 14@ Commanders Sunday, Dec. 13 1:00 p.m. CBS 15 Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 20 1:00 p.m. CBS 16@ Eagles Thursday, Dec. 24 8:15 p.m. Prime 17@ Packers Monday, Jan. 4 8:15 p.m. ESPN 18 Titans TBA Times in Eastern. Cable/satellite/streaming baseThe most expansive option for live game coverage is a multichannel plan. That includes streamers like Fubo, Sling TV and YouTube TV, or more traditional providers like DirecTV, Dish and Xfinity. We lay out cord-cutting alternatives for each NFL media partner down below, but there’s a certain peace of mind to the consolidation of pay television.Can Houston Texans 'generational' defense carry them to Super Bowl?Robert MaysCBSMain window: Sunday afternoon (in-market fans)Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, AFC Championship GameEach week, CBS carries games across two Sunday kickoff slots: one at 1 p.m., and another at 4:05 p.m. or the national window at 4:25 p.m. There will be 10 nationwide Sunday doubleheaders this year on CBS. Broadcasts are set by region when there are multiple offerings in a spot.It’s not a clean split, but CBS is known as the primary home of the AFC and is currently scheduled to carry eight Houston games. The network’s theme music is also a certified slapper.Its main pregame show, “The NFL Today,” adds recent retirees Russell Wilson and Kyle Long to its studio crew. CBS announcers include Jim Nantz and Ian Eagle, while the color commentary rotation stars Texans legend JJ Watt.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an indoor TV antenna for free over-the-air viewing. Local CBS games also stream on Paramount+.FoxMain window: Sunday afternoon (in-market fans)Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, NFC Championship GameLike CBS, Fox splits Sunday afternoons between early 1 p.m. action and later 4:05/4:25 p.m. matchups. Its centerpiece is branded as “America’s Game of the Week.” Unlike CBS, Fox has a dancing robot named Cleatus. It’s the nominal network for the NFC as well.Kevin Burkhardt, Joe Davis and Adam Amin are the lead play-by-play voices. Burkhardt pairs with Tom Brady, while Davis calls games alongside Greg Olsen. Amin is partnered with newcomer Drew Brees, who is fresh off his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. Some Spanish-language broadcasts are available on Fox Deportes.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for free over-the-air viewing. Local Fox games also stream on Fox One.NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZoneMain window: Sunday afternoon (out-of-market fans)These two are the access points for all non-national matchups that aren’t on regional CBS or Fox.NFL Sunday Ticket has full games. It’s exclusive to YouTube and YouTube TV. Those without a YouTube TV plan can still get NFL Sunday Ticket as a primetime channel through the standard YouTube app.RedZone is the whip-around program that jumps around the slate to cover scoring drives. This is the place for Scott Hanson, “the witching hour” and chaotic octobox split screens. It can be added to NFL Sunday Ticket, and it’s included on some high-end pay TV sports plans.RedZone also lives on NFL+ Premium, which can be bundled with the ESPN Unlimited plan.What you’ll need to watch: An NFL Sunday Ticket subscription through YouTube TV or the YouTube app; NFL RedZone access through select pay TV packages, ESPN Unlimited or NFL+ Premium.NBC and PeacockMain window: Sunday nightPlayoffs: 2 wild-card games, 1 divisional gameThis is the faithful home of “Sunday Night Football” each weekend. And because everything has to be confusing, the NBC lineup opens with a Wednesday night season premiere. At least SNF has a consistent 8:20 p.m. start time.Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth are in the booth, with Melissa Stark reporting from the sidelines. Carrie Underwood sings about waiting all day for Sunday night. NBC’s “Football Night in America” pregame show brings on longtime head coach Mike Tomlin. Telemundo has the telecasts in Spanish.The network has two extra Saturday offerings for Week 17. One is exclusive to Peacock, and both matchups will be announced later in the season. The same goes for NBC’s Week 18 regular-season finale.“Sunday Night Football” is subject to flex scheduling — games can be swapped in and out of the window twice between Weeks 5-10 and any time from Weeks 11-17. This allows executives to pick games with greater playoff implications, though it leaves the actual ticket holders in a bind.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for free over-the-air viewing, or a Peacock account with the live sports plan.ABC and ESPNMain window: Monday nightPlayoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, Super Bowl LXIThe Disney networks combine to cover 17 “Monday Night Football” games. Ten of those are on both ABC and ESPN, with another seven exclusive to the latter. The Texans play in the final Monday night game of the regular season when they visit the Green Bay Packers in Week 17; it airs on ESPN only. The oft-maligned “Monday Night Football” doubleheader is now a thing of the past.MNF kickoffs have 8:15 p.m. starts, and their schedule flexes can happen any time in Weeks 12-17. The two Saturday ABC/ESPN matchups in Week 18 will be set as the postseason picture sharpens.ESPN is preparing for its first Super Bowl broadcast ever on Feb. 14, 2027. It will be simulcast on ABC.Joe Buck handles play-by-play for MNF. He’s joined by analyst Troy Aikman, plus the sideline duo of Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge. Spanish-language airings can be found on ESPN Deportes. For 11 regular-season games and the Super Bowl, ESPN2 offers an alternate “ManningCast,” in which Eli and Peyton Manning watch the games with famous fans. Guests have ranged from Bill Belichick to Lil Wayne.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for ABC, or an ESPN Unlimited account.Prime VideoMain window: Thursday nightPlayoffs: 1 wild-card gameMost weeks begin with “Thursday Night Football,” which kicks off at 8:15 p.m. Those games are behind the Prime paywall, but they’re free over the air in the participants’ home markets. Flex rules around TNF are a bit less hectic, with two allotments between Weeks 13-17.Houston has two Thursday night games: at home against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 11, and on the road in Philadelphia on Christmas Eve.Thursdays are called by Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit, with Kaylee Hartung on sideline duty. Herbstreit loves dogs; Michaels hates vegetables. Prime has Spanish-language coverage and advanced stat broadcast options within its app. One-time Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is one of the pregame, halftime and postgame personalities.What you’ll need to watch: Amazon Prime. TNF is also free on Twitch with a registered account.NFL NetworkThe league-owned media outlet is now under ESPN’s purview, thanks to a blockbuster deal that gave the NFL a 10 percent ownership stake in “The Worldwide Leader in Sports.” As of July 30, NFL Network is integrated into the ESPN Unlimited plan. It can also be accessed through NFL+ or NFL+ Premium.NFL Network has five of the international games, including the Texans-Jaguars clash in London on Oct. 18. Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick will be on the call.NFLN also has a pair of Saturday matchups in Week 16 to be revealed at least two weeks prior to Dec. 26. Those two have 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. kickoffs.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or access to NFL+, NFL+ Premium or ESPN Unlimited.NetflixRemember when Netflix was shipping DVDs in red envelopes? Now, the streaming behemoth continues to expand its relationship with the NFL. It has five regular-season games in the upcoming season, including two of the three Christmas Day marquees. Like TNF on Prime, these Netflix games are over the air in their respective local markets.As reported by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, new Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly has been tapped as Netflix’s top NFL analyst. He and Noah Eagle (son of CBS’ Ian Eagle) are on the call for the Week 1 export at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.What you’ll need to watch: A Netflix subscription.Watching the Texans’ full regular-season slate of games will run you somewhere around $40-$125 per month if you’re an in-market viewer, and $115-$200 per month if you’re an out-of-towner. This covers any potential schedule flexes down the road. That range factors in average pay TV costs, NFL Sunday Ticket prices and the lowest subscription tiers for Netflix, Peacock and Prime. The final bill can be lowered a bit if you use Twitch for TNF.Official Texans single-game franchise records(Through the 2025 season)