The Carolina Panthers found success last week just when they made a change under center with Kyle Allen starting. They will look to win their second win in a row this Sunday against the Houston Texans, who are also finding their groove. The Panthers are +800 to win the NFC South, while the Texans are -130 to win the AFC South.
Maybe Kyle Allen is the answer for the Panthers’ offensive struggles. He looked like it in Week 3, when he filled in nicely for the injured Cam Newton in a 38-20 road win over the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday. Newton is still the quarterback for the Panthers, but Allen’s performance in the Cardinals game gave Carolina a reason to let Newton rest up some more. Allen passed for 261 yards and four touchdowns in the win over Arizona. Running back Christian McCaffrey had 153 rushing yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Tight end Greg Olsen moved like he was five years younger and finished with 75 receiving yards and a couple of touchdown receptions. We enumerate all that to say that the Panthers’ offense looked smooth with Allen under center. The Panthers, however, need to fortify their pass protection, as the Texans have just recorded five sacks in their last outing.
The Panthers, who are averaging 26.3 points per game, are 2-0 against the spread (ATS) in their last two road games.
Betting on the Houston Texans (2-1)
After allowing 10 sacks in the first two games, the Texans’ offensive line finally tightened it up, as they let quarterback Deshaun Watson get taken down just two times for a loss of 14 yards. They can do better, but that’s an improvement nonetheless. Watson had 351 passing yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions in a 27-20 road win over the Los Angeles Chargers, while wide receiver Kenny Stills continue to bloom in Houston. Stills paced the team with 89 receiving yards on four catches and six targets in the Chargers game. With Stills playing well, DeAndre Hopkins may see less pressure from opposing defenses. Hopkins had 67 receiving yards on six catches and seven targets in Week 3. The Texans are 13th in the NFL with 22.7 points per game and also 13th in scoring defense with 20.7 points allowed per contest.
The under is 5-0 in the Texans’ last five home games.
