The Detroit Lions welcome the Houston Texans in Week 12. According to the best USA sportsbooks, the Lions are three-point home underdogs for Thanksgiving. They are coming off a 20-0 shutout loss to the Carolina Panthers. Houston, meanwhile, picked up its second win in the past three games with a solid performance against the Patriots in Week 11.
Houston Texans vs. Detroit Lions NFL Odds by CashBet.ag
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texans | -3 (EV) | 51½ (-107) | -155 |  |
| Lions | +3 (-120) | 51½ (-113) | +135 | |
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Betting Houston Texans
The Texans are field-goal road faves per the best online sportsbooks. Starting QB Deshaun Watson has been great the past two months. That includes his outing in Week 11. He had 344 yards and two scores in the win over New England. As well as 36 rushing yards and one TD on the ground.
He now faces another former pupil of the Bill Belichick defense he just smoked in Detroit head coach Matt Patricia. The Texans are better than their record might suggest. They have played a number of playoff-bound teams to start the season. And they are enjoying forward momentum going into this short week. That works in their favor.
Betting Detroit Lions
The Lions are home dogs as established by the best USA sportsbooks. The short week doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for either team. But it could take a bigger toll on Detroit. Starting quarterback Matthew Stafford played with a thumb injury on his throwing hand in Week 11’s loss to the Panthers. And you could tell he did.
He completed just 18 of 33 passes for 178 yards and did not throw a touchdown pass for the first time since Week 10 of 2019. It also wasn’t helpful that offensive fixtures D’Andre Swift, Kenny Golladay and Danny Amendola were sidelined with injuries. Their statuses for week 12 are still unclear. There’s not a lot of time to get them back on the field.
Houston Texans vs. Detroit Lions NFL Pick
The Texans are playing the better NFL football betting heading into this matchup. They haven’t won consecutive games since December of last year. They can’t run the football and their defense has been terrible for much of the season.
The Detroit Lions have a banged up QB who looked pretty bad last week. They’ve played their worst football at Ford Field. Their defense hasn’t fared any better than that of the Texans.
These are two teams with erratic defenses. You might lean toward the Lions and the free points just because they have more to play for right now. But it’s better for users of the best USA sportsbooks to bet on the total.
Watson connected with nine different targets against the Patriots. Houston’s passing attack could be without a couple of pieces. Randall Cobb is expected to miss time with a toe injury. Kenny Stills is questionable, nursing a quad. Given the uncertain state of the Lions’ passing game, the rushing attack is the best bet versus Houston’s defense. A running game that may still be missing Swift.
The Texans allow 5.1 yards per carry to opposing runners. Although Detroit managed just 40 yards on the ground versus Carolina, it handed off just 17 times and had to leave the run after falling behind. Houston may allow those shorter gains on the ground, but it looked much stronger defending the pass against New England.
Houston’s defense has been on defcon 1 most of the year, but it does stand its ground inside the red zone. They allow opponents a touchdown in just half of their tries in the last three games. And on 60% of those chances for the entire season. The Lions have been horrible in the red zone in their past three contests, hitting the jackpot in less than 43% of the time.
