Houston at Cincinnati NFL Odds & Betting Prediction for Week 2

The Houston Texans visit Cincinnati on Thursday night to face the Bengals on national television. Both teams delivered disappointing results in their openers, as Cincinnati took a 20-0 beating from Baltimore, and Houston lost 29-7 at home to Jacksonville, with starting quarterback Tom Savage only making it until halftime. Both teams need to jump-start their performances if they want to contend in their divisions — which team will be favored in the betting lines for Week 2? Check out our NFL odds preview on this matchup before you place your bets.

Houston at Cincinnati NFL Odds & Betting Prediction for Week 2

On #TNF, the #Texans want to get the run game going. 🏈: https://t.co/XO4bsOVE4Z pic.twitter.com/P82UheyPDQ

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 12, 2017

When: Thursday, September 14, 2017, 8:30 PM ET Where: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati TV: NBC Radio: KILT 610AM (Houston) / 1530 AM (Cincinnati) Live Stream: NFL Live NFL Odds: Cincinnati -3, O/U 38

Why should you bet on the Texans?

Tom Savage was the victim of a porous offensive line on Sunday. In the first half, the Jacksonville Jaguars sacked him six times and forced him to fumble twice, returning one for a touchdown. Deshaun Watson came in for the second half, being the more mobile option, and he went 12 for 22 in his regular season debut, picking up 102 yards and throwing a touchdown pass (as well as an interception). Watson took four more sacks on the day. Houston came into the season with a defense that was respected, but they had no answer for Jaguars rookie Leonard Fournette, who had 155 all-purpose yards and scored a touchdown. They could not get to Blake Bortles — generating zero sacks — and they didn’t have any takeaways. This was an uncharacteristically mild performance by a Bill O’Brien-coached defense. It will be interesting to see whether J.J. Watt’s dynamic energy can last a little longer after his entry to the field of play when the Texans go to Cincinnati.

Why should you put your money on the Bengals?

Andy Dalton posted a 0.6 Total QBR on Sunday. He threw four interceptions — half as many as he threw in the entire 2016 campaign — and he fumbled as well. He did go 16 for 31 for 170 yards on the day, but the drives that he led simply stalled, and he missed some receivers that were wide open on their routes. The running game wasn’t much better, as touted rookie Joe Mixon carried the ball eight times — for just nine yards. The Cincinnati defense fared somewhat well, holding Baltimore to just a field goal after halftime and limiting them to 268 yards on the day, but 157 yards of those came on the ground, which allowed the Ravens to eat up lots of clock as they won the time of possession battle handily. Linebacker Vincent Rey provided one bright spot, leading the team with 11 tackles. If you like the Bengals, then you think that Andy Dalton will bounce back and have a big day against a Houston defense that let Blake Bortles and Leonard Fournette run rampant against them in the opener, and that the Bengals’ defense will be able to stop the combination of Savage or Watson and Lamar Miller carrying the ball.

Series History

• Total Meetings: 11
• First Meeting: November 3rd, 2002. Reliant Stadium. Houston, Texas
• Last Meeting: December 24th, 2016. NRG Stadium. Houston, Texas
• All-Time Series: Houston 7-4-0
• Largest Margin of Victory: Cincinnati 38-3 (2002)
• Longest Win Streak: Houston 5 (2008-2013)
• Current Win Streak: Houston 2 (2015-2016)

Latest NFL Odds Trends

• Houston is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
• Houston is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
• The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Houston’s last 9 games
• Cincinnati is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
• Cincinnati is 6-11-2 ATS in its last 19 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cincinnati’s last 5 games

Expert NFL Odds Pick and Final Score Prediction

I’m excited to see what Deshaun Watson will be able to do in Houston, but he won’t be able to do much if the Texans don’t figure out basic pass protection. Giving up 10 sacks to the Jacksonville Jaguars is an inexcusable performance, and the Texans’ O-line needs to regroup in Week Two. I’d jump right on that Cincinnati bandwagon for this matchup, but then I remember that Cincinnati is in a tailspin all their own. Their best defensive player (Vontaze Burfict) can’t stop taking suspensions for dirty hits, and their quarterback, while talented, has never had a reputation for doing much at all in the clutch. The Bengals are about 15 weeks away from a rebuild — I think — if they can find a way out of that $96 million that they owe Dalton. So I see Houston winning this one in an ugly fashion, 16-13.