Houston Texans preseason schedule released

HOUSTON – The Houston Texans 2016 preseason schedule was released Thursday afternoon and three of their opponents are very familiar.

The defending AFC South champions will play San Francisco, New Orleans, Arizona and in-state rival Dallas.

The Texans will start the preseason on the road with a game against the 49ers. It's the fourth time in the past five years that the teams have met in the preseason.

Houston will host the Saints in Preseason Week 2. The teams have battled in the preseason eight times in the past nine years.

The home cooking continues the following week as the Texans host the Cardinals at NRG Stadium. It's the first meeting in Houston between the teams in the preseason.

The Texans close out the season by heading up I-45 to face the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. The rivals' preseason series is tied at 4-4.

Here's the full preseason schedule (HOME GAMES IN CAPS):

Aug. 11-15: at San Francisco

Aug. 18-23: NEW ORLEANS

Aug. 28: ARIZONA

Sept. 1-2: at Dallas