Chiefs vs Texans - Preseason Game 1
Aug 06, 2006, 2:50:46 PM by Pete Moris
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (0-0)
AT
HOUSTON TEXANS (0-0)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2006 – 7:00 PM (CENTRAL)
RELIANT STADIUM – HOUSTON, TEXAS
TV: KCTV-5 (CBS in Kansas City) – Roger Twibell, Jayice Pearson and Rich Baldinger.
RADIO: KCFX-FM (101.1) – Mitch Holthus, Len Dawson, Bob Gretz and Bill Grigsby.
THE MATCH-UP
Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards and Texans head coach Gary Kubiak will both make their debuts on the sidelines with their respective clubs in Saturday’s contest at Reliant Stadium which serves as the preseason opener for both squads. Kansas City posted a 10-6 record a year ago in Dick Vermeil’s final pro campaign, while Houston is coming off a disappointing 2-14 campaign under Dom Capers. Edwards returned to Kansas City as the Chiefs head coach in 2006 after previously serving as a scout and assistant coach with the club in the ‘90s. He originally joined the club in ‘89 as a minority fellowship coach. Owning 27 years of NFL experience as either a player, coach or a scout, Edwards spent the past five seasons as head coach of the N.Y. Jets, becoming the only coach in that franchise’s history to lead that squad to the postseason on three difference occasions. Kubiak enters his first season as an NFL head coach after spending the past 11 seasons (’95-05) as the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos. Edwards and Kubiak both own the distinction of serving as NFL players before embarking on their coaching careers. The Chiefs head coach enjoyed a 10-year career as a cornerback with Philadelphia (’77-85), Atlanta (’86) and the L.A. Rams (’86), while Kubiak served as a quarterback for Denver (’83-91). Although Chiefs RB Larry Johnson will likely see only brief duty in Saturday’s contest, he registered a remarkable performance in his last visit to Reliant Stadium. Johnson set a Chiefs single-game rushing record with 211 ground yards and two TDs in a 45-17 win (11/20/05). Up next for the Chiefs is a contest at the N.Y. Giants (8/17) that will be televised nationally by FOX. The Texans travel to face the Rams in a preseason outing at St. Louis (8/19). The Chiefs will depart training camp in River Falls, Wisconsin on August 18th and will resume their preseason practice schedule in Kansas City on August 19th.
THE SERIES
The road team has won all three road games of the brief Chiefs-Texans regular season series that Kansas City leads by a 2-1 count. In the most recent meeting between the two teams, Kansas City claimed a 45-10 victory at Houston (11/20/05) as RB Larry Johnson racked up a franchise single-game record 211 rushing yards, surpassing the previous mark of 200 yards established by RB Barry Word vs. Detroit (10/14/90).
The Chiefs won their inaugural regular season meeting with the Texans by a 42-14 count at Reliant Stadium (9/21/03) in a game that featured a 73-yard punt return TD by Houston native WR Dante Hall and a pair of rushing scores from University of Texas alum RB Priest Holmes. The Texans won the only regular season outing between the two clubs at Arrowhead by a 24-21 score (9/26/04) as a 101-yard INT return by Texans CB Marcus Coleman changed the momentum of the game in Houston’s favor.
Kansas City claimed a 19-9 victory vs. Houston (8/17/02) in the only previous preseason meeting between these two AFC franchises. That game also marked the Texans initial visit to Arrowhead Stadium. The next scheduled regular season meeting between these two teams won’t occur until 2007 when KC is again slated to visit Houston.
The Chiefs have won their last four contests played in the city of Houston. In addition to road wins against the Texans in 2003 and 2005, KC claimed a pair of victories at the Astrodome vs. the Oilers – a 20-19 regular season victory (9/1/96) and a 28-20 triumph in an AFC Divisional Playoff Game (1/16/94).
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The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.
