The NFL season should get off to a flying start Sunday as last season's top two passing offenses square off when the Houston Texans take on the defending AFC champion Indianapolis Colts in a key AFC South contest at Houston's Reliant Stadium.
Looking to extend their streak of eight consecutive playoff appearances, the Colts are 15-3 against division opponents over the past three seasons and have won the AFC South six of the past seven years.
Seeking the first playoff berth in franchise history, the Texans hope to challenge Indianapolis' dominance within the division, but they first must change their fortunes against the Colts themselves. Indianapolis has won 15 of 16 meetings against Houston, with the Texans' only win coming in 2006, the year the Colts won the Super Bowl.
Indianapolis nearly added its second Super Bowl title of the decade last season, going 14-2 in the regular season and breezing through the AFC playoffs before losing 31-17 to New Orleans in Super Bowl XLIV.
The Colts' high-powered passing offense is still in good hands with four-time MVP Peyton Manning, who has topped 4,000 passing yards in 10 of 12 pro seasons and has twice led the league in passing - in 2000 and 2003 - but it was the quarterback who will be on the other sideline Sunday who led the league last season.
In his third season with the Texans, Matt Schaub started 16 games for the first time in his career, and he made the most of the opportunity. Schaub completed 68 percent of his passes for 4,770 yards and 29 touchdowns, making his first Pro Bowl.
Like Manning, who has receiver Reggie Wayne and tight end Dallas Clark back after catching 100 passes apiece last year, Schaub returns his top receiver in Andre Johnson. Johnson led the league with 1,569 yards on 101 receptions and caught nine touchdown passes a year ago.
The Texans hope to improve on their 30th-ranked running game with Arian Foster taking over the starting job. Foster played only six games and made just one start last year, but he ran for 257 yards and three touchdowns. The former undrafted free agent beat out Steve Slaton for the starting job after promising rookie Ben Tate was placed on injured reserve.
The Colts also have room for improvement in the running game - lots of it, in fact. Despite the dangerous duo of Joseph Addai (828 yards, 10 TDs) and Donald Brown (281 yards, 3 TDs), Indianapolis ranked last in the league in rushing in 2009.