Houston Texans: An expert guide to betting the Texans in Week 3

Hopkins of the Houston Texans (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
Hopkins of the Houston Texans (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /
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The Houston Texans take on the New York Giants in Week 3. Here’s your expert guide on how to make money while rooting for your Texans.

The Houston Texans face off against the New York Giants in their home opener this week, and they are still searching for their first win. They inexplicably lost in Week 2 to the Titans on the road as -3 favorites, but we did have that the game would go under. I’ll take a 1-1 after whiffing on the spread and the total in Week 1.

This week’s game will be televised on Fox at 12:00 pm central time. They’ll be playing at NRG Stadium in Houston and can be heard on the radio on 610 Sports Talk and 100.3 The Bull in Houston.

Nevada no longer holds a monopoly on the sports gambling business. Full-scale legalized sports betting is now available in Mississippi, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware, too.

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It is 6 hours and 22 minutes from NRG Stadium to Biloxi, MS if you’re interested in making a quick road trip before Sunday’s game to place your legal wagers. As a result of sports gambling no longer being in the shadows, I would like to give you some advice on how to wager on the Houston Texans’ game each Sunday. Always remember to never bet more than you can afford to lose, and please, gamble responsibly.

Matchup: vs. New York Giants (0-2)

The Giants hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 and played them close. In Week 2, they traveled to the Lone Star State and lost a snooze-fest on Sunday Night Football to the Dallas Cowboys. The most exciting part of the game was when the Giants successfully converted an onside kick with 1:27 remaining in the game, and you had to be thinking that the ‘Boys were going to find a way to blow their 10-point lead.

The Texans have faced off against the Giants four times in franchise history, and they have gone 1-3 in those games. The total has also gone under in three out of four of those games.

Both teams have a lot of new faces, and familiar faces have aged since they last met on September 21, 2014. That was Bill O’Brien’s first year leading the Houston Texans, and this is Pat Shurmur’s first season as the head man in New York. Despite that, there’s not much to glean from the Giants’ 30-17 home victory that day.

Shurmur doesn’t want to start his tenure in New York 0-3, and there are already fire takes being thrown around that the Giants will regret taking Saquon Barkley over Sam Darnold in New York. The team definitely wants to have Barkley’s back and should be looking to set up a signature game for him. Especially after the only notable thing he did Sunday against the Cowboys was have Chris Collinsworth break a record for the number of times someone has gushed about someone’s thighs on national television.

O’Brien also doesn’t want to start 0-3 in Houston because if he does, he may be shown the door in Houston before Hue Jackson is in Cleveland. He will also want to atone for being wildly outcoached by his former protege Mike Vrabel last weekend. His coaching was so miserable that the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain gave the coaches an F- on his Texans weekly report card.

In terms of injuries, Olivier Vernon and Eli Apple are out for Sunday’s game. They are key members of the Giants’ defensive unit, so that will certainly hurt them.

The Houston Texans haven’t had anyone miss practice this week, and cornerback Kayvon Webster returned as a limited participant on Wednesday. That’s a good sign for a Texans secondary that was torched by Titans safety Kevin Byard. I joke, but the Texans can use all the help they can get while remaining winless.

Line: Texans -6 and Total: 42.5

This will be a battle of who’s offensive line can hold up over four quarters because both teams are putrid in that department. Matthew Travis at Empire Writes Back wrote about how Ereck Flowers is the biggest draft bust in Giants history, and he certainly played the part against the Dallas Cowboys. The Texans aren’t much better though, so I shouldn’t be rubbing it in as a Texans fan.

Both teams have excellent skill player groups, and watching Odell Beckham Jr. and Deandre Hopkins face off in the same game will be a treat. They’re two of the top three wide receivers in the NFL right now.

The only real advantage offensively is in favor of the Texans. Deshaun Watson is better than Eli Manning at this stage of their careers. Manning looked about as washed up as Carmelo Anthony at this point last Sunday night. This should finally be the matchup for J.J. Watt to assert himself as being bac,  and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him have 2-3 sacks.

The Giants defense got burned early in the Cowboys game and kept their team in the game against the Jaguars. Meanwhile, the Texans defense hasn’t played anywhere near their potential because even Alabama would look good going up against an offense led primarily by Blaine Gabbert. Because of potential, the Texans have the leg up defensively.

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The Houston Texans should win their home opener and have more talent across their roster than the Giants, but it’s hard to be confident in a team with O’Brien roaming the sidelines and coming off a loss to a Gabbert led team. This game could be an offensive explosion, but I think poor offensive line play will allow the defenses to shine instead.

I would expect Watson to outplay Eli, but OBJ has the better game than Nuk. It’ll be an offensive struggle, and I expect the Texans to get their first win of the year. I’ve bet on the Texans to cover two weeks in a row, and the third time is the charm.

Prediction: Texans 24-Giants 13

Season Gambling Record: 1-3

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The Houston Texans can celebrate their first win of the season and put off worrying about how to protect Watson for another day.

All odds are courtesy of Oddshark.com.