PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* Division Rd DOMINATOR >> 2-0 with Wild Card Sides!
(NFL) Houston vs. New England,
Point Spread: -15.00 | -110.00 New England (Home)
Result: Win
Point Spread: -15.00 | -110.00 New England (Home)
Result: Win
The set-up: The Houston Texans visited the New England Patriots in Week 3 and with the Patriots starting a rookie third-string QB making his first career start (Jacoby Brissett), the Pats routed the Texans 27-0! So it can hardly be surprising that with a rested New England hosting theTexans this Saturday at Foxboro (with Tom Brady at QB), the Pats opened as 14 1/2-point favorite, with the line climbing from there.
Houston: The Texans won the AFC South with a 9-7 record and then knocked off fifth-seeded Oakland 27-14 in the wild card round last weekend. Of course, the Raiders were playing with a third-string QB in that game as well, in Connor Cook. The rookie from Michigan State made his first-ever career start and was clearly not ready fro primetime, passing for just 161 yards and a TD. He had three INTs and completed only 18 of 45 passes. Houston allowed the fewest yards in the NFL this season (301.3 YPG) but it's fair to assume that Brady and Co. will present a much tougher test. QB Brock Osweiler reclaimed his starting job when Tom Savage suffered a concussion in Week 17 and if one listened to color analyst John Gruden, played like Joe Montana against the Raiders. However, the stat sheet says he threw for 168 yards and a TD (no INTs) plus ran for 15 yards and another score. Another one of Gruden's 'greats' was RB Lamar Miller, who 'shredded' the Oakland defense for 73 yards on 31 carries (that's 2.4 YPC). You remember Jim Brown, don't you? I swear it was him out there.
New England: Brady sat out the season's first four games (you may have heard why) but returned to throw for 3,554 yards in just 12 games, completing 67.4 percent with 28 TDs and two INTs (112.2 QB rating). Most of that came without Gronk but with Brady, it just never seems to matter who his receivers are. Julian Edelman made a team-high 98 catches for a receiving corps that has been bolstered by waiver-wire acquisition Michael Floyd and expects to have Danny Amendola back on Saturday. No one replaces Gronk but TE Martellus Bennett has 55 catches (second-most of his nine seasons) plus a career-high seven TD catches. RB Blount ran for a career-high 1,161 yards and had 18 rushing TDs (led the league). For all the talk about New England's offense, the Patriots permitted a league-low 15.6 PPG and ranked third in rushing defense (88.6 YPG) on 3.9 YPC. The Pats held six of their last seven opponents to 17 points or less.
The pick: A win on Saturday and the Pats will become the first team since the merger to advance to six straight conference title games. No one is taking the Texans on the moneyline so it's, "can Houston cover or not?" The Patriots are 7-1 all-time against Houston, including 4-0 at home, and have won their last two meetings with the Texans by a combined score of 54-6. New England comes in having outscored its last three opponents 92-20 and catch Houston, a warm-weather team, playing in the cold night air of Foxboro. Yes, the pointspread borders on the 'obscene' but Ryan Fitzpatrick was the only starting QB to finish with a lower QB rating than Brock Osweiler and during the regular season, Houston averaged just 17.4 PPG on 314.7 YPG (both ranked 29th of 32 teams). As noted, it's not just Brady and the offense, as the Pats finished strong, to lead the league in fewest PPG (15.6), as the Pats allowed 12.4 PPG if you start from Week 11. Lay the points and make New England a 10* play.
Houston: The Texans won the AFC South with a 9-7 record and then knocked off fifth-seeded Oakland 27-14 in the wild card round last weekend. Of course, the Raiders were playing with a third-string QB in that game as well, in Connor Cook. The rookie from Michigan State made his first-ever career start and was clearly not ready fro primetime, passing for just 161 yards and a TD. He had three INTs and completed only 18 of 45 passes. Houston allowed the fewest yards in the NFL this season (301.3 YPG) but it's fair to assume that Brady and Co. will present a much tougher test. QB Brock Osweiler reclaimed his starting job when Tom Savage suffered a concussion in Week 17 and if one listened to color analyst John Gruden, played like Joe Montana against the Raiders. However, the stat sheet says he threw for 168 yards and a TD (no INTs) plus ran for 15 yards and another score. Another one of Gruden's 'greats' was RB Lamar Miller, who 'shredded' the Oakland defense for 73 yards on 31 carries (that's 2.4 YPC). You remember Jim Brown, don't you? I swear it was him out there.
New England: Brady sat out the season's first four games (you may have heard why) but returned to throw for 3,554 yards in just 12 games, completing 67.4 percent with 28 TDs and two INTs (112.2 QB rating). Most of that came without Gronk but with Brady, it just never seems to matter who his receivers are. Julian Edelman made a team-high 98 catches for a receiving corps that has been bolstered by waiver-wire acquisition Michael Floyd and expects to have Danny Amendola back on Saturday. No one replaces Gronk but TE Martellus Bennett has 55 catches (second-most of his nine seasons) plus a career-high seven TD catches. RB Blount ran for a career-high 1,161 yards and had 18 rushing TDs (led the league). For all the talk about New England's offense, the Patriots permitted a league-low 15.6 PPG and ranked third in rushing defense (88.6 YPG) on 3.9 YPC. The Pats held six of their last seven opponents to 17 points or less.
The pick: A win on Saturday and the Pats will become the first team since the merger to advance to six straight conference title games. No one is taking the Texans on the moneyline so it's, "can Houston cover or not?" The Patriots are 7-1 all-time against Houston, including 4-0 at home, and have won their last two meetings with the Texans by a combined score of 54-6. New England comes in having outscored its last three opponents 92-20 and catch Houston, a warm-weather team, playing in the cold night air of Foxboro. Yes, the pointspread borders on the 'obscene' but Ryan Fitzpatrick was the only starting QB to finish with a lower QB rating than Brock Osweiler and during the regular season, Houston averaged just 17.4 PPG on 314.7 YPG (both ranked 29th of 32 teams). As noted, it's not just Brady and the offense, as the Pats finished strong, to lead the league in fewest PPG (15.6), as the Pats allowed 12.4 PPG if you start from Week 11. Lay the points and make New England a 10* play.
