Texans at Rams: Preview, prediction, odds and pick

The Texans may be heading downhill after the season-ending injury to Deshaun Watson, but they’ll look to bounce back against the Rams on Sunday.

If you looked at this game on the schedule a week or two ago before Deshaun Watson tore his ACL, it likely appeared to be the best game on the entire schedule with two young, talented quarterbacks going at it. Now, we’ll get to see Tom Savage try and compete with Jared Goff when the Houston Texans travel to play the Los Angeles Rams.

These two teams are polar opposites at this point, with the Rams on fire in the NFC and battling for the second seed in the conference, while the Texans scratch and crawl to avoid last place in a weak AFC South. The mismatch will surely translate to the field, with the Texans defense dealing with endless injuries, and the Rams offense rolling at the moment.

The only saving grace for this game for the Texans would be some added motivation to avoid last place in the weakest division that the AFC has to offer at the moment, and maybe that can inspire a perfect performance from Savage to lead the Texans’ offensive charge to victory.

Odds: Rams -11.5, according to Odds Shark

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The odds showcase just how much of a beatdown this game could turn into, with the Rams lighting up a lot better defensive challenges from teams over the 2017 campaign than the Texans can provide. Goff is on a rapid pace in a potential race towards MVP honors, and he should pick apart a weakened Texans defense.

I don’t imagine this game going very well for the Texans, and they’ll likely be heading home with an embarrassing loss to show for their travels. The Rams should take this one with ease, but there’s always the chance for a crazy upset on any given Sunday.

Prediction: Rams 31, Texans 10