The Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7 SU, 3-8 ATS, 5-5-1 O/U) have dropped two straight games in the BetUS Sportsbook and have been the most disappointing team in the entire NFL this season. The Houston Texans (4-7 SU, 4-7 ATS, 9-2 O/U) snapped a three-game losing streak in their last contest, beating the lowly Cleveland Browns 16-6 on Sunday but have also been a huge disappointment this season.
The NFL concludes its 13th week of football betting action on Monday night with the AFC South on display for sports bettors, as the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7, 3-8 ATS) invade Reliant Stadium to do battle with the Houston Texans (4-7, 4-7 ATS). These two divisional rivals met earlier this season in Jacksonville, with the Jags pounding out a 30-27 overtime victory.
To some, the Miami Heat (7-6 SU, 6-6-1 ATS) is a nice surprise in the NBA’s Southeast Division. On Monday night they will play host to the Houston Rockets (9-5 SU, 7-7 ATS) in NBA pro basketball sports betting action that is slated to begin at 7:30 PM ET at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.
The Cleveland Browns (4-6 SU, 6-4 ATS), who are still desperately trying to stay in the running for a playoff spot, will play host to the Houston Texans (3-7 SU, 4-6 ATS), who have essentially fallen out of the running, in NFL sports betting action that is set to get underway at 1 PM ET on Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium (natural turf).
The Houston Rockets (6-4 SU, 4-6 ATS, 4-6 O/U) have alternated wins and losses in each of their last six contests in the BetUS Sportsbook. The Oklahoma City Thunder (1-9 SU, 5-5 ATS, 5-5 O/U) are absolutely reeling, having lost seven straight games coming into this contest.
The Houston Texans take on the Indianapolis Colts in what almost assuredly should be a blow-out. The Texans start Sage Rosenfels again at quarterback. He just isn’t as good as Matt Schaub. Sports betting fans have to love how Rosenfels goes in there and then just gets absolutely pummeled by opposing defenses.
The Baltimore Ravens (5-3 SU, 6-2 ATS, 5-3 O/U) are on a roll, having won three straight games in the BetUS Sportsbook. The Houston Texans (3-5 SU, 2-6 ATS, 7-1 O/U) are trying to keep their nearly, dead playoff hopes alive after losing their last game.
This is a game between two teams going in opposite directions. After a terrible start to the NFL season, the Houston Texans have sort of turned the corner. They are now 3 and 4, well within earshot of the playoffs in the AFC, and have on of the top quarterback and wide receiver combinations in the NFL with Matt Schaub throwing and Andre Johnson catching. Their defense is coming together nicely and they should only improve as the season wears on.
The Houston Texans (0-3 SU, 1-2 ATS) will, unbelievably, be playing their first home games of the season on Sunday when they play host to the Indianapolis Colts (1-2 SU & ATS) in an AFC South contest that is slated to kick off at 1 PM ET at Reliant Stadium (natural turf) in Houston.
The Houston Texans (0-3 SU, 1-2-0 ATS, 3-0-0 O/U), lost to Jacksonville 30-27 in overtime on Sunday but covered the spread as a 7-point underdog in a Week 4 matchup that went Over the posted O/U total of 42.5 total points.
Saturday NCAA Football Preview
East Carolina is a 10 point favorite the over under is 61.
Preseason: Denver Broncos at Houston Texans
BetUS NFL Betting Odds: HOUSTON -3, Total 34.5
NOTABLE STAT: Denver was 29th in rushing defense in 2007 (142.1 ypg allowed)
KEY NFL FOOTBALL BETTING TREND: Denver has won nine of its last 12 in pre-season
The Houston Texans (8-8 SU & ATS in 2007) are trying to get themselves over the .500 mark and to the playoffs in this, the third season of Gary Kubiak’s tenure as head coach. On Saturday night they will get their pre-season started when they host the Denver Broncos (7-9 SU, 5-11 ATS in 2007) in an NFL exhibition game that is slated to begin at 8 PM ET at Reliant Stadium (natural turf) in Houston.
In the BetUS NFL football betting odds, the Texans are listed as a three-point home favorite, with a posted total of 34.5 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* DEN has lost nine of its last 14 games SU
* DEN has covered six of its last 24 games
* DEN has played 15 of its last 21 games OVER the total
* DEN has played five of its last seven road games OVER the total
* HOU has won five of its last eight games SU
* HOU has played four of its last five games OVER the total
* HOU has won five of its last six home games SU
* DEN has played four of its last six pre-season games UNDER the total
* DEN has won nine of its last 12 pre-season games SU
* DEN has covered eight of its last 12 pre-season games
* HOU has played seven of its last nine pre-season games OVER the total
* HOU is 5-2-1 ATS in its last eight pre-season games
* HOU has won four of its last five pre-season home games SU
Of course, the storyline here is easy – Gary Kubiak served as Denver’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for eleven years before taking the head coaching job with the Texans. And he has brought so much former Bronco personnel that his team has become known to some as “Denver South.” None of that has been an accident, as Kubak is trying to emulate the winning formula established by Denver coach Mike Shanahan. He has even gone so far as to hire Mike’s son, Kyle Shanahan as his offensive coordinator.
Kubiak has also hired Alex Gibbs, the former offensive line coach in Denver, as his assistant head coach, and they are going to set about trying to develop a running game that can carry this team. They could conceivably be better equipped, but there is no question that Gibbs’ presence will be felt with this team.
Andre Johnson is certainly the #1 receiver for Houston, but there is going to be some competition for who is inserted aside him and in the three and four-WR sets that Kubiak will use. Last season, when Johnson was down with injury, some of the wideouts stepped up and performed well, namely Andre Davis and Kevin Walter. The problem is that this team is thin at running back at the moment, so they’ll have to improvise.
With Sage Rosenfels getting plenty of snaps in this game, the Houston offense will be in decent shape, for a while anyway. Rosenfels tossed 15 touchdown passes last year, six more than starter Matt Schaub, despite starting only five games.
There is no secret as to one of the things Mike Shanahan wants to do in this pre-season. He needs to find an every-down running back and establish a pecking order with capable backups. Travis Henry, who was a load of trouble apparently, was let go a couple of months ago, and now Selvin Young has the lead, but he is going to be pushed by Michael Pittman and Andre Hall. The downer is that Ryan Torain, regarded as a possible “sleeper” by many, is having elbow surgery and is unavailable until at least the middle of the year.
There’s a distraction in Denver, surrounding starting wide receiver Brandon Marshall’s three-game suspension from the league for violating its code of conduct. But there may be some revenge in the air too, as Shanahan was blown away by his former pupil in a 31-13 Houston win last year. And since Shanahan doesn’t mind winning these pre-season tilts (capturing nine of their last 12), we’ll take the points with Denver, the three-point underdog in the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds.
JAY’S PLAY: DENVER (+3) * (Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
The 2008 NFL betting season is around the corner! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting.
