Houston Texans at New Orleans Saints (-4), Total 53 |
Houston is one of a few teams that is a perfect 2-0 straight-up and against-the-spread this season, coming off a 23-13 win over the Miami Dolphins as three-point road favorites. The Texans have won the yardage battle in both contests and will now play one of the better teams in the NFC.
One of the interesting findings in looking closer at the statistics is the fact that the Texans are fifth in rushing and 22nd in passing. Over the last three seasons, they’ve been one of the more explosive passing teams in the league. The play calling doesn’t seem to matter to quarterback Matt Schaub.
“We’re definitely excited about being 2-0, but it’s not our goal,” stated Schaub in practice this week. “It’s a steppingstone. We won a game on the road in Miami last week.”
The running game was expected to be a strength of the team, but last year’s leading rusher Arian Foster hasn’t really been part of the party. The depth at the position has allowed the team to excel on the ground.
Foster has been hampered by a hamstring injury that he suffered during the preseason and it hasn’t healed fully. He carried the ball only 10 times for 33 yards last week. Head coach Gary Kubiak has been very happy with the play of backup Ben Tate.
“He’s playing really well,” Kubiak commented. “As we work Arian back into what we’re doing, and get him back to full speed. Ben’s going to probably carry most of the load. He has gained 103 and 116 yards in the first two weeks of action.
On the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has turned around the defense in a big way, as the unit ranks first in the league. Houston has allowed just 20 points in the first two weeks.
Due to the NFL betting odds in this contest, the Texans are 3-2 ATS as a road underdog of 3.5 to 7 points, while also being 8-8 ATS on the road overall.
New Orleans bounced back in a big way after dropping the NFL’s opening night contest to the Green Bay Packers, tallying a 30-13 win over the Chicago Bears as 4.5-point home favorites. The Saints finished with a 136-yard advantage, including 78 in the passing game.
Quarterback Drew Brees continues to be one of the best in the NFL, throwing for 270 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears, a week after going over the 400-yard mark versus the Packers. His main target was Devery Henderson with top receiver Marques Colston out with an injury.
“I know there is a high level of trust that exists between our quarterback and Devery,” stated Saints head coach Sean Payton. “That depth for us, that experience, definitely pays off when you have an injury.”
Both teams will be familiar with each other in playing in the preseason on Aug. 19, while also meeting the previous three years and also practicing against each other. It’s important to note that the practices didn’t happen this year due to the limited amount of prep time due to the lockout.
The Saints are 16-17 ATS as a favorite over the last two-plus seasons, including 2-3 ATS when laying 3.5 to 7 points.
Due to the betting odds falling in favor of the Texans, the Saints are very attractive due to their 7-3 ATS mark in September. Texans betting is 1-4 ATS in Week 3 under Kubiak in betting prediction picks.
