NFL Wild Card Betting Odds: Houston Texans Expert Analysis

If you want to know whether the Houston Texans are capable of pulling off the upset over the Kansas City Chiefs when they square off in their AFC Wild Card pairing on Saturday, January 9, at 4:35 PM ET, live from the gridiron at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, then you need to know as much about the Texans as possible. Thanks to the expert NFL Wild Card betting analysis you’re about to get on the streaking Texans, you’re going to have a great opportunity to make a series of well-informed wagers when Houston takes the field this coming weekend.

OFFICIAL: #Texans have signed T Andrew McDonald to the 53-man roster. MORE–> https://t.co/DxT8qttqJK pic.twitter.com/HXBdKtn5gW
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) January 5, 2016

With that said and kickoff time quickly approaching, let’s get started.

Offense Statistics

Total Yards-347.8-19th Passing Yards-239.6-18th Rushing Yards-108.2-15 Points Scored-21.2-22nd Field Goal %-85.2-17th Analysis: Despite their success this season, the Texans were completely mediocre across the board on offense this season. As you can see from the above chart, Houston finished in the middle third in every meaningful offensive statistical category and that could be a big problem against the defensive-minded Chiefs. The Texans have one elite playmaker in gifted wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, but they’re also talent-challenged at the skill positions.

Team Leaders

Touchdowns-DeAndre Hopkins-11 Rushing-Alfred Blue-698 Passing-Brian Hoyer-2606 Receiving-DeAndre Hopkins-1521 Sacks-J.J. Watt-17.5 Interceptions-Andre Hal-4

Defense Statistics

Total Yards-310.2-3rd Passing Yards-210.4-3rd Rushing Yards-99.8-10th Points Allowed-19.6-8th Field Goal %-76.9-5th Analysis: The Texans reached the postseason based almost solely on their outstanding defense. Houston ranked third in total defense and against the pass as defensive end J.J. Watt led the league in sacks (17.5). The Texans also finished 10th against the run and eighth in points allowed (19.6 ppg) while not allowing more than 10 points in each of their final three regular season games. Linebacker Brian Cushing, cornerback Johnathan Joseph and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork also had fantastic seasons for the Texans.

The Texans reached the postseason based almost solely on their outstanding defense.

Home and Away

The Texans went 5-3 SU and ATS at home this season and an identical 4-4 SU and ATS on the road, so they’ve shown plenty of consistency in both areas.

Coaching

Analysis: The Texans have a widely respected head coach that knows the game in veteran NFL lifer Bill O’Brien, the former quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots (2009-2011). O’Brien has led the Texans to a pair of identical 9-7 records in two seasons in the Lone Star state despite not having a ‘real’ quarterback either season. O’Brien also turned Penn State’s gridiron program around by going 15-9 in two seasons following the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Starters

Offense QB-7 Brian Hoyer WR-10 DeAndre Hopkins WR-85 Nate Washington WR-11 Jaelen Strong RB-33 Akeem Hunt TE-84 Ryan Griffin LG-71 Xavier Su’a-Filo LT-76 Duane Brown C-60 Ben Jones RG-79 Brandon Brooks RT-72 Derek Newton Defense RDE-99 J.J. Watt NT-75 Vince Wilfork LDE-93 Jared Crick SAM-59 Whitney Mercilus MIKE-56 Brian Cushing WILL-55 Benardrick McKinney DB-30 Kevin Johnson LCB-25 Kareem Jackson RCB-24 Johnathan Joseph FS-29 Andre Hal SS-27 Quintin Demps