Philadelphia Eagles at Houston Texans Betting Preview
Thursday Night Football pits the Philadelphia Eagles (7-0) and Houston Texans (1-5-1) against one another in a battle of NFC versus AFC. The Texans will host this one at NRG Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 8:15 pm ET.
In their last game, the Eagles took down the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-13. In the win, Jalen Hurts threw for 285 yards and four touchdowns, with three of those touchdown receptions coming from A.J. Brown.
Houston dropped their last game 17-10 against the Tennessee Titans. David Mills threw for 152 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the loss. Dameon Pierce had the lone touchdown reception, one of three catches he had on the night.
The Eagles are the overwhelming favorites in this one despite playing on the road. They are -770 to win, while the Texans’ moneyline sits at +540. The spread features Houston +13 (-110), and the over/under for total points is 43.5.
Eagles Look To Stay Unbeaten
The Philadelphia Eagles have taken the NFL by storm this year, going unbeaten through their first seven games. Their early success has propelled them to having the second-best odds of winning the Super Bowl at +550. They will look to continue the success as they travel to Houston on Thursday.
Leading the Eagles’ offense is quarterback Jalen Hurts. On the season, Hurts has thrown for 1,799 yards, ten touchdowns, and just two interceptions. He has also rushed 79 times for 303 yards and another six scores.
His early success has the Eagles ranked as the third-best scoring offense, averaging 28 points per game.
Hurts’ favorite receiver to this point is A.J. Brown. In seven games, he has hauled in 39 receptions for 659 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, Miles Sanders leads the way with 563 yards rushing and five touchdowns.
The Eagles have been elite on defense, too. They rank fourth in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 16.9 points per game (20 points on the road).
Texans Look For First Home Win
After starting the season 1-5-1, the Houston Texans have the worst record in the AFC and the second-worst record in all of football (behind only the Detroit Lions). With their only win having come on the road, the Texans will look for their first home win Thursday.
There hasn’t been much to get excited about on the offensive side for Houston fans. They rank 29th in the league, averaging just 16.6 points per game.
Under center for Lovie Smith’s team is quarterback Davis Mills. He has thrown for 1,502 yards, eight touchdowns, and six interceptions.
Mills’ favorite target to this point has been Brandin Cooks. The 29-year-old receiver has 32 receptions for 354 yards and a touchdown to this point. His second-best receiver, Nico Collins, is questionable for this game with a groin injury.
On the ground, Dameon Pierce has done some damage. He has rushed 121 times for 539 yards and three touchdowns. He also has 20 receptions for 98 yards and another score.
Defensively, the Texans rank 17th as they are allowing opponents 22 points per game.
Take The Eagles To Win And Cover
This seems like quite a mismatch on paper, and unless the Eagles simply get complacent with the Texans, they should sail to their eighth straight win. To this point, they have won by an average margin of 11.1 points per game, and that should be affected in this matchup.
Looking at the trends, the Eagles are not only 7-0 in their last seven games, but they are undefeated in their last five games against Houston and 5-1 in their last six road games (stemming from last year).
For Houston, they are 1-9-1 in their last 11 home games, and they are 0-7 in their last seven games against NFC teams.
At the end of the day, expect Philadelphia to run away with this one. Take them to not only win straight up but expect them to cover the 13-point spread (-110) as well.
