The Houston Texans (+1200 to win the AFC title) are on a roll and they will look to sustain their form when they face the Denver Broncos at home. The Broncos are longshots to make the playoffs, but are focused on developing a young quarterback who could be the team’s future cornerstone. Going into this Sunday’s game the sportsbook favors the home team by 8-points.
Is Drew Lock the long-term answer under center for the Broncos? It’s hard to answer that for certain, but Lock sure helped his candidacy for the permanent gig as the Broncos’ starting quarterback with his performance in Week 13’s 23-20 home win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Lock threw a pair of touchdowns and had an interception to go with 134 passing yards on 18-of-28 completions. Lock can get better, but for now, he still needs the running backs for much support on offense. Phillip Lindsay led the team in the Chargers game with 58 rushing yards on 11 carries, while Royce Freeman only had 11 rushing yards on five carries. The two running backs can have more success in Week 14 against Houston’s run defense that is just 24th in the league with 4.6 rushing yards allowed per carry and 19th with 111.1 rushing yards allowed per game.
The Broncos are 3-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last four road games. The under is also 3-1 in those games.
Betting on the Houston Texans (8-4)
The Texans continue to take control of their fate in the AFC South following their 28-22 win at home over the New England Patriots last Sunday. Quarterback Deshaun Watson made sure to bring his a-game against the Patriots, as he passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-25 completions. The Texans barely relied on their ground attack, with the team rushing for only 52 yards on 23 carries, but there’s an opportunity for them to get their running backs going, as the Broncos are only 20th in the league with 113.7 rushing yards allowed per contest. With Watson playing well, he’s taking full advantage of his talented receiving corps. DeAndre Hopkins, Kenny Stills, and Will Fuller are threats downfield on any given game, while the tight end pair of Jordan Akins and Darren Fells has been great in the red zone. The Texans are sixth in the league with a 65.0 percent red zone touchdown conversion percentage.
