CAROLINA PANTHERS:
Carolina opens 2017 preseason on Aug. 9 when the team hosts the Houston Texans at Bank of America Stadium.
The game is taking place on Wednesday, one day before the NFL window for preseason openers. The exception was granted to accommodate the PGA Championship taking place in Charlotte during the week.
The Texans are one of the Panthers least common opponents. This is just the second preseason meeting between the teams (the first was in 2012). The teams have met only four times in the regular season.
In the offseason, the Panthers made a number of additions that will be making their debuts, or in some cases, their returns to the team.
First-round draft choice Christian McCaffrey will debut after a college career that earned him the eighth-overall draft selection by the Panthers. McCaffrey totaled 6,987 all-purpose yards in college at Stanford, inlcuding an NCAA record 3,864 all-purpose yards in 2015 that helped him finish the year as a Heisman Trophy runner-up. Some veterans who potentially will make their first apperances as Panthers against Houston include offseason free agent additions tackle Matt Kalil, safety Mike Adams and wide receiver Russell Shepard.
Returning to Carolina are two familiar faces in defensive end Julius Peppers and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn. Peppers played the first eight seasons of his career with Carolina and is the Panthers all-time franchise leader with 81 sacks and 29 forced fumbles. Since entering the NFL in 2002, Peppers, a nine-time Pro Bowler, ranks No. 1 in the league in sacks (143.5).
Munnerlyn returns to the Panthers after spending the past three seasons (2014-16) with Minnesota. Munnerlyn began his career with the Panthers, playing five seasons (2009-13) with the team. He holds the Panthers career interception return touchdowns record with five and is tied for the club single-season record with two, a feat he achieved in 2012 and in 2013.
Notes:
• The Panthers and Texans are meeting in the preseason for just the second time. The first meeting, a 26-13 Houston victory in Carolina, occurred in 2012.
• The teams are not common opponents in the regular season either, having met just four times. The teams played previously in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 and 2015 regular seasons with the Texans winning the first two contests before Panthers wins in 2011 and 2015.
HOUSTON TEXANS:
The Houston Texans open their 2017 preseason schedule on the road against the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday, Aug. 9. Kickoff at Bank of America Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game marks the first time in team history the Texans will play on a Wednesday.
Houston has completed over a week of training camp and will travel to Charlotte, N.C. on Tuesday, Aug. 8. The Texans have won four consecutive preseason games for the first time in franchise history and last season marked the first time in team history the Texans went undefeated in the preseason, with wins over the San Francisco 49ers (Week 1), New Orleans Saints (Week 2), Arizona Cardinals (Week 3) and Dallas Cowboys (Week 4). With a win against the Panthers, the Texans would have the first five-game preseason win streak by an AFC South member since the Titans won ve straight between the 2007-08 preseasons. Last year, Houston became the rst AFC South team to win all four preseason games since Tennessee in 2003. The AFC South record for longest preseason winning streak is six by the Titans from 2003-04.
The Texans are 9-6 all-time in preseason openers and 10-5 all-time in their first road game of the preseason, including 9-2 in their last 11.
Following Wednesday night’s contest, the Texans will return to The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.V. to continue training camp. On Aug. 15-16, Houston will welcome the New England Patriots for joint practices prior to their second preseason game at home on Saturday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. CT against New England.
Notes:
• The Texans hold a 1-0 record against the Panthers in the preseason with the rst meeting coming in 2012. Houston is 1-0 on the road against the Panthers in the preseason as the two teams have never faced each other in Houston in the preseason.
• In the first matchup (8/11/12), Houston won, 26-13, and posted 174 yards rushing, which tied for the fourth-highest total in team pre- season history. Then-rookie OLB Whitney Mercilus recorded 1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss and three total tackles.
News & Notes:
KEEPING THE CORE: This season, 33-of-89 (37.1%) players on the Texans active 89-man roster are new to the team in 2017. Of those 33 players, 26 are rook- ies (seven draft picks, 19 college free agents) and seven are veterans acquired off waivers or through free agency.
• In 2016, 29-of-90 (32.2%) players on Houston’s roster were new to the team, the lowest percentage in Head Coach Bill O’Brien’s tenure (2014- 17). Of those players, 22 were rookies (six draft picks, 16 undrafted free agents) and seven were veterans (all acquired through free agency).
• In 2015, approximately one-third (33-of-90) of the players on the Texans roster were new to the team at the start of training camp. Twenty-three of those players were rookies and 10 veterans were acquired through free agency.
• In 2014, over half (47-of-90) of the players on the Texans roster were new to the team. The 47 players included 30 rookies, 16 veterans ac- quired through free agency and one through trade.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET:
2015 WEEK 2: Houston (17) at Carolina (24)
73,254 • Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, N.C. • Sept. 20, 2015
RECAP: In their first road game of 2015, the Texans fell to Carolina 24-17 in a matchup that came down to the nal seconds of regulation.
Dropped passes and a sluggish first half plagued the Texans offense in QB Ryan Mallett’s first start of the season. Mallett finished the game 27-of-58 for 244 yards and added two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) while throwing one interception.
The Texans offensive line was forced to reshuffle as starting left tackle Duane Brown was inactive. The unit then lost right tackle Jeff Adams to a knee injury during the game.
The defense held the Panthers to 10 points in the first half, but struggled to contain QB Cam Newton, who tossed two touchdowns and rushed for 76 yards and a score. S Rahim Moore nabbed the first takeaway of the season with an interception of Newton.
Houston’s defense forced two three-and-outs to start the game. K Randy Bullock’s 43-yard field goal in the first quarter put the first points on the board, giving the Texans a 3-0 lead.
Newton’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn, Jr. gave the Panthers their rst lead of the game early in the second quarter. A 28-yard field goal extended their lead on Carolina’s following offensive series.
Moore’s interception in the red zone kept the Panthers from adding to their lead in the second quarter. Moore returned the pick 17 yards and fumbled, but ILB Justin Tuggle recovered. The Texans took over at their own 22-yard line but were unable to convert the turnover into points.
Head Coach Bill O’Brien’s squad trailed 10-3 at halftime.
Mallett and the Texans offense came out firing in the second half. He was 7-of-7 on his first touchdown drive of the day. The 13-play, 80-yard drive was capped by a Mallett-to-Garrett Graham strike at the back of the endzone. The 7-yard score featured Graham’s one-handed catch, and tied the contest at 10-all.
Carolina fired back with its own 80-yard drive, punctuated by a two-yard leap into the endzone by Newton. The Panthers regained the lead 17-10. Mallett’s first interception in the fourth quarter, by A.J. Klein, led to Carolina points. One play after the Klein pick, Newton threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Corey Brown. The Panthers took their biggest lead of the day, 24-10, with 8:53 left in the game.
Mallett bounced back on the next drive, throwing a 48-yard deep pass to WR Nate Washington to move into scoring range. On fourth-and- goal, Mallett’s six-yard run brought the Texans within one score. Houston trailed 24-17 after the 7-play, 80-yard drive. The Panthers attempted a 53-yard eld goal with 2:48 left in the game. DE Jared Crick blocked the attempt to give Houston possession on its 43-yard line.
The Texans moved the ball down to the Carolina 20-yard line during their nal drive of the game but came up short on fourth down.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:
RUSHING (Att-Yds): Houston, C. Polk 14-38, J. Grimes 2-7, A. Blue 5-6, R. Mallett 1-6, J. Prosch 1-4. Carolina, C. Newton 10-76, J. Stewart 17-62, M. Tolbert 5-31, F. Whittaker 1-3.
RECEIVING (Rec-Yds): Houston, J. Grimes 6-40, C. Shorts 6-34, D. Hopkins 5-53, N. Washington 3-63, C. Worthy 2-15, C. Polk 2-9, C. Fiedorowicz 1-19, G. Graham 1-7, A. Blue 1-4. Carolina G. Olsen 6-70, T. Ginn 4-41, C. Brown 3-57, M. Tolbert 2-4, D. Funchess 1-15, J. Cotchery 1-11, J. Stewart 1-(-3).
SACKS (Sk-Yds): Houston, J. Watt 1-4, Q. Demps 0.5-6.5, E. Pleasant 0.5-6.5. Carolina D. Edwards 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS (Int-Yds): Houston, R. Moore 1-17. Carolina A. Klein 1-8.
TACKLES (S-A-T): Houston, Q. Demps 2-6-8, B. Cushing 4-3-7, J. Crick 3-4-7, J. Watt 4-1- 5, J. Joseph 4-1-5, J. Tuggle 3-1-4, K. Jackson 3-1-4, W. Mercilus 2-2-4, R. Moore 3-0-3, J. Clowney 2-0-2, K. Johnson 2-0-2, A. Dent 1-1-2, B. McKinney 1-1-2, V. Wilfork 0-2-2, E. Pleasant 0-1-1. Carolina, T. Davis 6-3-9, K. Coleman 5-4-9, R. Harper 5-1-6, B. Benwikere 4-2-6, J. Norman 4-1-5, S. Thompson 3-1-4, A. Klein 2-2-4, D. Edwards 2-1-3, C. Tillman 1-2-3, K. Short 0-3-3, K. Love 1-1-2, K. Ealy 0-2-2, C. Johnson 0-2-2, M. Addison 0-1-1, C. Cole 0-1-1, W. Horton 0-1-1.
MISSED FIELD GOAL: Houston, none. Carolina, G. Gano 53B.
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