NFL gambling sites favor Houston over New England when they play on Thursday in an NFL Week 1 preseason game from Gillette Stadium.
Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots Odds by MyBookie.ag
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texans | -1½ ( -110 ) | 38½ ( -110 ) | -125 |  |
| Patriots | +1½ ( -110 ) | 38½ ( -110 ) | +105 | |
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Betting Houston Texans
The Texans are two-point road faves according to the best online sportsbooks. The Houston Texans have not won more than four games in each of their last three seasons. The big story for the Texans is the quarterback competition between Davis Mills and rookie C.J. Stroud.
Mills is the more experienced of the two, with 33 career TD passes, but he has gone 5-19-1 as a starter. Stroud was a back-to-back Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year with 85 career TD passes and more than 8,100 yards at Ohio State.
The Texans have to find targets for whoever will start under center. They traded Brandin Cooks, but they added Robert Woods and they drafted Nathaniel Dell and Xavier Hutchinson. A hierarchy needs to be established.
On defense, the Texans have to figure out the rotation of their defensive line. The core comprises Jerry Hughes, Will Anderson Jr., Jonathan Greenard and Chase Winovinch, but Hassan Ridgeway is fresh off his best season ever with the 49ers. All things considered, taking into account the Texan’s lack of success in recent years, no one is guaranteed a starting position.
The Texans fired head coach Lovie Smith after the 2022 season. The Texans then hired former player DeMeco Ryans as the new head coach.
Betting New England Patriots
The Pats are two-point home dogs at NFL gambling sites. The New England Patriots should have a lot of motivation after they missed the playoffs last season. They have not missed the postseason two straight years in a row since the 1999-2000 season.
The Pats may be in the midst of a quarterback competition of their own. Mac Jones is the name that most people know, but Bailey Zappe went 2-0 as a starter last season. He completed 70.7% of his passes for five touchdown scores and 781 passing yards through the air.
Following two years of uneven play with 24 picks and 36 touchdown scores, Jones’s job is not a shoo-in at this point in time. Other than the newly signed JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Pats do not have any receivers that stand out.
Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, and DeVante Parker need to break through to the next level. A crucial battle for the Patriots is at the right tackle position. Riley Reiff is the seasoned veteran with ten years under his belt, but Calvin Anderson started in 12 games with the Broncos, and Conor McDermott held his own last season in six contests.
The Pats’ offensive attack ranked 17th in points and 26th in yards last season. It’s no wonder that most of the training camp battles for positions are on the offensive side of the ball.
Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots Pick
In the preseason games, we tend to go with the team that has the most quarterback depth because that is the single position that can turn a game around. It’s also easier to assess than the innumerable rotations at other positions. The Texans have the advantage there since Davis Mills is a starter-ready quarterback with experience while C.J. Stroud is the cocky rookie eager to make an impact.
The competition should bring out the best in both guys. On the other hand, Bailey Zappe and Mac Jones are each a question mark and will remain glorified back-ups until they can prove otherwise. We feel more confident about the Texans quarterback situation at this moment, so that is where we lean in this preseason game.
The Texans have gone 4-10 ATS against the point spread in their last 14 games played on a Thursday. Houston has gone 4-1 ATS against the point spread in their last five football games overall. The Patriots have gone 0-5 ATS against the point spread in the last five games that they have played against the AFC. New England has gone 0-4 ATS against the point spread in their last four games overall.
The under has gone 11-5 in the Texans’ last 16 games on the road. The under has gone 4-1 in the Patriots’ last five games at home. The Texans have gone 1-6 ATS against the point spread in their last seven matchups in New England and 4-1 ATS against the point spread in their last five encounters. The home team has gone 4-0 ATS against the point spread in their last four meetings.
