The Houston Texans are set to pay a visit to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. CBS is scheduled to have the TV rights and this critical early afternoon matchup kicks off at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Week 16 Betting Preview: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Houston Texans
This game is projected as a toss-up. If one team catches a lucky break early it would create a nice live betting scenario. Vegas has determined the over/under (O/U) to be 45 points.
The game’s opening line was 1.5. The O/U hasn’t moved after it was initially set at 45.
The Texans have gained 3.6 units so far in 2018 and are 6-6-2 against the spread (ATS). They’ve been a decent under bet and have posted an O/U record of 6-8.
The Eagles have lost 0.5 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 5-9 ATS and have an O/U record of 5-8-1.
The Texans are 10-4 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Eagles are 7-7 SU.
The Texans are coming off a 29-22 win over the Jets last week where Deshaun Watson completed 22 passes on 28 attempts for 294 yards and two touchdowns. Alfred Blue (six yards on nine rush attempts) led the running attack. DeAndre Hopkins (10 receptions, 170 yards, two TDs) and Demaryius Thomas (six catches, 59 yards) shared the receiving duties in the win.
The Philadelphia Eagles are coming off of a 30-23 win over the Rams in Week 15. The defensive secondary let the Rams air it out for 339 yards. Todd Gurley II had a good outing in the defeat for Los Angeles, posting 48 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 12 attempts, along with 76 yards and a score on 10 catches. For Philadelphia, Nick Foles completed 24-of-31 passes for 270 yards and one interception. Josh Adams (28 yards on 15 rush attempts, one TD) and Wendell Smallwood (48 yards on 10 carries, two TDs) spearheaded the running game while Alshon Jeffery (eight receptions, 160 yards) and Golden Tate (five catches, 43 yards) led the pass-catching corps in the win.
Houston has run the ball on 49.4 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Philadelphia has a rush percentage of 39.9 percent. The Texans have produced 130.4 rush yards/game and have eight touchdowns on the ground this year. The Eagles are putting up 98.9 rushing yards per game and have 12 total rush TDs.
It seems like the Texans may hold an advantage in all aspects of the ground game, as their running backs has produced 4.3 yards per carry while their defense is allowing a YPC of 3.6 to opponents. The Eagles have registered 4.0 yards per carry and allowed 4.9 YPC to opponents.
The Texans offense has averaged 256.6 yards through the air overall and has 24 passing scores so far. The Eagles have produced 272.1 pass yards per contest and have 22 total pass TDs.
Defensively, Houston should have the upper hand in both facets. The team has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 88.3 yards and throw for 278.5 yards per game. The Philadelphia D has allowed 298.7 yards per game to opposing passers and 104.9 yards per game to opposing runners. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to the opposition, as the Texans have given up an ANY/A of 6.33 to opposing QBs, while the Eagles are yielding an ANY/A of 6.54.
Passing-wise, Watson has put up 3,325 yards this year. He’s completed 67 percent of his 392 attempts with 23 passing scores and nine interceptions. Watson has a 7.05 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 6.82 over the last two outings.
For the home team, Nick Foles has completed 78-of-113 passes for 721 yards, one TD and two INTs. Foles’ ANY/A stands at 5.30 for the year and 7.26 over his past two games.
Houston Texans vs. Philadelphia Eagles Free Prediction
SU Winner: Eagles, ATS Winner: Eagles, O/U: Under
Betting Notes
- The Texans have made 18 pass plays of 30+ yards while the Eagles have produced 21 such plays.
- The Houston defense has allowed 10 pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Philadelphia has given up six such plays.
- The Houston offense has created eight rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Philadelphia has created seven such runs.
- The Texans defense has allowed three rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Eagles have given up 13 such runs.
- The Houston D has 39 sacks on the year while Philadelphia has 35.
- As a team, Houston has averaged 4.0 yards per carry across its last three contests and 3.2 over its last two.
- Philadelphia has averaged 3.6 yards per carry over its last three matchups and 3.3 over its last two.
- Houston has won 11 of its last 12 games SU, with a three-point defeat to Indianapolis on December 9th representing the only loss over that stretch.
- Philadelphia has won four of its last five games SU, with a -6-point defeat to Dallas on December 9th accounting for the only loss over that span.
