Houston Texans (-3) at Miami Dolphins, Total 48 |
Houston came away with an uneventful 34-7 home win over the Indianapolis Colts as nine-point favorites, as the team didn’t have to defend quarterback Peyton Manning, who is still recovering from offseason neck surgery.
The Texans played without one of their stars last week, as running back Arian Foster sat out due to lingering hamstring problems. He’s expected back in the lineup this week, but will have a shorter work load.
“He looks ready to play,” stated Texans head coach Gary Kubiak. “He’s had a good week. I think he’ll be fine.”
Foster’s backup this week is certainly capable, as Ben Tate ran for 116 yards on 26 carries in Week 1. Leaving the running game aside, the team could be in for a huge day through the air.
Houston quarterback Matt Schaub completed 17 of 24 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown last week, but has to be chomping at the big after watching Tom Brady throw for 517 yards against the Miami secondary on Monday Night Football.
He has some big-time weapons on the outside, including Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones. Johnson came away with seven catches for 95 yards last week, while Jones caught three passes for 43 yards.
NFL betting players will find that the Texans are still just 18-23 ATS as a favorite and the ‘under’ is 23-20 over that span.
Miami will try to pick itself off the mat after allowing a franchise-high 622 yards in Monday’s loss to New England at Sun Life Stadium. It was an embarrassing performance that many in the locker room want to forget.
“As I said to them last night in the locker room, the clock runs and Houston has a jump on us right now,” stated Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano. It wasn’t all bad for his squad, as Chad Henne showed that he’s ready for a big 2011 campaign.
The former Michigan signal-caller completed 30 of 49 passes for a career-high 416 yards and two touchdowns, but it still wasn’t enough for the team to avoid dropping its fifth straight home game.
Bettors will likely back the Texans in this contest, as they’ve won all five previous meetings, including a 27-20 victory as one-point road favorites in 2009 in betting predictions.
