Colts at Texans: Preview, prediction, odds and pick

The Houston Texans will host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon in Week 9. Here is the game preview, the betting odds and a final score prediction.

Week 9 will be in full effect this week in the NFL. One game that will be going on in the early afternoon time slot will be between two AFC South rivals in the Indianapolis Colts (2-6) and the Houston Texans (3-4). Kickoff from NRG Stadium in Houston will be at 1:00 p.m. ET on Nov. 5. Greg Gumbel and Trent Green will be in the booth to call the game for CBS.

Indianapolis is no longer competitive this season. Having to start former New England Patriots third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett under center has not helped the Colts tread water in the AFC without their normal starting in Andrew Luck. Brissett does have the look of an NFL franchise quarterback but does not have the supporting cast to succeed in Indianapolis. The Colts roster is awful.

Houston has finally found its star quarterback in its 15-year history as a franchise. Deshaun Watson is magnificent for the Texans, but his great play hasn’t translated to as many wins as it should. The Texans are just 3-4 on the year and may not end up making the AFC playoffs this year.

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Houston -13
Moneylines: Houston -700, Indianapolis +562
Over/Under: 49

According to OddsShark, the Texans will be laying a massive 13 points at home to the visiting Colts. The associated moneylines for this game will be Houston -700 and Indianapolis +562. This game’s over/under comes at a combined 49 points.

Houston is and should be the overwhelming favorite. The Texans went down to the wire against arguably the best team in football last week in the Seattle Seahawks. Though not victorious over Seattle, the Texans should be able to bulldoze their AFC South rival Colts on Sunday afternoon at home.

The bigger question in this game is by how many points and will the Texans be able to cover the lofty 13-point spread. When Houston does play uptempo on offense, it does leave its normally strong defense a bit vulnerable, meaning the Colts will score points.

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This will be the rare game, if it ever happens, where it is both a push in terms of the point spread and the over/under. The Texans will put up 31 points while the Colts manage 18. That’s a 13-point differential and the set mark of 49 for the over/under. What are the odds of that?

Prediction: Texans 31, Colts 18