The Dallas Cowboys will get the spotlight in the NFL 2012 season's first game Wednesday night on national TV against the defending champion New York Giants. But the state's best team will kick off on Sunday with most of the rest of the league.
The defending AFC South champion Houston Texans open their season at noon Sunday at home against the Miami Dolphins. The game will be televised on CBS. The Texans made the playoffs for the first time last season while cruising to the division title, and did so down the stretch with third-string quarterback T.J. Yates. Starter Matt Schaub is back and healthy, and he has as talented a group of skill players around him as any offense in the league, with Andre Johnson and Arian Foster just to name a couple.
The Texans' defense is loaded, too, even with the subtractions of DeMeco Ryans and Mario Williams. The Wade Phillips-coached unit will be the first to see Miami Dolphins rookie starter Ryan Tannehill out of Texas A&M.
Here's the rest of the slate for Week 1 of the 2012 NFL season:
Wednesday, Sept. 5
- Cowboys at Giants, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Sunday , Sept. 9
- Redskins at Saints, noon, FOX
- Falcons at Chiefs, noon, FOX
- Eagles at Browns, noon, FOX
- Rams at Lions, FOX
- Patriots at Titans, CBS
- Dolphins at Texans, CBS
- Bills at Jets, noon, CBS
- Colts at Bears, noon, CBS
- Jaguars at Vikings, noon, CBS
- Panthers at Buccaneers, 3:25 p.m., FOX
- Seahawks at Cardinals, 3:25 p.m., FOX
- 49ers at Packers, 3:25 p.m., FOX
- Steelers at Broncos, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Monday, Sept. 10
For more on the NFL schedule, visit SI.com.
For more on the Houston Texans, head over to Battle Red Blog. More news and analysis on the NFL as the regular season begins can be found over at SB Nation's NFL hub and SB Nation's YouTube channel.
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