It doesn’t matter what you think of the Patriots this Week 2 and the way they conduct their business, they have been perhaps the most successful sports franchise in the past 10-15 years. During that time, Tom Brady has staked his claim to being the GOAT, with Coach Bill Belichick also in the running to stake that same claim. With Brady now 40 years of age, it’s fair to say that we are beginning to come to the end of this amazing partnership, but given how the QB performed in the Super Bowl last season, that end may be further away than some imagine. On the other hand, before we go deep into this match facts, feel free to take a look at the current NFL preseason betting odds for this and many other games here.That said, we all remember how quickly the likes of Manning and Favre deteriorated in their final couple of seasons. Over in Houston, it has been the lack of a great QB that has prevented this team from taking the next step, but they believe they may have found their franchise QB of the future with DeShaun Watson. The kid certainly looked poised in Week 1 of the preseason, but we are going to reserve judgment until he is forced to face the #1 offensive units in this league. The Patriots and Texans will hook up in Week 2 of the preseason in Texas on Saturday night.
The Texans struggled a little ATS last season, going 7-10-1, which took their 3-year record to 25-24-2, making them a coin flip choice at best. They were a little better at home, going 14-11-1 since 2014, and were particularly good as a home favorite, where they went 11-5-1. The records of these two teams make the ATS bet a tough one to call.
NFL Preseason New England vs. Houston Week 2 Betting Odds
When: Saturday, August 19 at 8 PM ESTWhere: NRG Stadium, HoustonTV: NFL NetworkRadio: Sirius XM RadioStream Option: NFL Game PassNFL Week 2 Odds: Houston Texans -1½ (-110)GAMETIME WEATHERClear32°C/89°FHumidity 62%Precipitation % 2%Cloud Cover 22%Wind 9 mph SSEStadium Type RetractableStraight Up Stats
The Patriots come into this game as slight underdogs, and will not be pleased at having lost their first preseason game to Jacksonville. The Patriots had another stellar season last year, going 17-2 and winning the Super Bowl. They are now an incredible 45-11 over the past 3 seasons, building an 18-7 record during that run. They were not the road dog very often, but when they were, they went 4-1.The Houston Texans went 10-8 last season, eventually losing in the Divisional Round in the postseason. They have been a solid 28-23 since 2014, which includes an impressive 18-8 record in their own building. They have been particularly good as a home favorite over the past 3 seasons, compiling the best record in the NFL at 15-2.Point Spread Stats
If you had bet the Patriots ATS in each of their games in 2016, you would have made a tidy profit, as they went 16-3. They are a slight 1.5-point underdog for this one on the road. They were not quite as impressive on the road, going just 14-11 ATS since 2014, although they did go 4-1 as a road underdog, which may serve them well for this one.