The New England Patriots are enjoying quite a lead atop the AFC East, but they will have to win more, as the Baltimore Ravens have shot at winning the home-field advantage in the playoffs. The Houston Texans, meanwhile, also need wins to add some cushion between them and the rest of the AFC South. The Pats and the Texans are +275 and +400 to win Super Bowl 54, respectively.
The Patriots played the role of a rude host on Sunday, as they defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Foxboro, 13-9, on Sunday. The Patriots didn’t need an exceptional performance from Tom Brady, who only passed for 190 yards and a touchdown. Brady didn’t even complete half of his pass attempts, going 17 for 37. Then again, the Patriots’ defense was there to balance things out for the team, especially cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who spent the entire game making Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper like a waste of money for Dallas. Cooper was held to zero receiving yards and zero catches. Gilmore has been phenomenal of late, and if wants to further make a statement about his status as one of the best corners in the league, he has the chance to do that by taking Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins out of the equation. The Patriots have the second pass defense in the NFL, allowing just 158.0 passing yards per game. They own the NFL-best 5.42 defensive interception thrown percentage.
The Patriots are 5-2 against the spread (ATS) in their last seven games overall.
Betting on the Houston Texans (7-4)
After getting buried alive in their loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11, the Texans rebounded by defeating the Indianapolis Colts, 20-17 at home last Sunday. Quarterback Deshaun Watsonpassed for 298 yards and a couple of touchdowns with an interception on 19-of-30 completions. Watson and the Texans know that Hopkins has a target on his back this Sunday, but Houston has another big-time weapon in Will Fuller V, who could capitalize on the focus New England will put on Hopkins. Against the Colts, Fuller had 140 receiving yards on seven catches, while Hopkins had six receptions for 94 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Texans are 10th in the NFL with an average of 24.1 points per game and seventh overall with 381.6 total yards per contest. The Texans may have to establish their ground attack first to open things up for the team’s passing game, so keep an eye out on Carlos Hyde getting busy early in the contest.
The under is 8-2 in the Texans’ last 10 home games.
