Brock Osweiler didn’t look like a quarterback worth $72 million during Sunday night’s matchup with the visiting Colts. But Houston fans saw a glimpse of his true potential when the former Broncos signal-caller led the Texans to an epic comeback.
The Texans overcame a 23-9 deficit in the final quarter and eventually sealed the deal in overtime, preserving their unbeaten 4-0 home record this season. Osweiler, despite struggling early on, was clutch down the stretch, completing 11 of his final 13 throws. All in all, he had 269 passing yards with two fourth-quarter TDs and one interception.
Lamar Miller also deserves just as much of our praise. He submitted his best performance as a member of the Texans, exploding for 149 yards on 24 carries along with his first touchdown of the year. Miller has inputted 520 yards rushing through six games, the fourth-highest in the NFL right now.
Osweiler and Miller, however, will need to come up huge again for the Texans in Week 7. They’re up against Osweiler’s former squad—the Broncos—and we all know how difficult it is to break through a Denver defense that’s allowing just 18.0 points and 295.0 total yards per game.
Houston is 0-2 SU and ATS on the road this season.
One thing was certain during Denver’s loss to the Chargers on Thursday night: head coach Gary Kubiak was dearly missed. The Broncos offense garnered just 304 total yards, was 3-of-13 on third-down conversions and didn’t utilize their passing game enough against a vulnerable San Diego secondary.
The Denver defense also had its flaws, particularly between the tackles and up the middle, as the Chargers were able to get some valuable productions from tight ends Hunter Henry and Antonio Gates, who combined for 99 yards on eight catches, including a touchdown by the former.
Nevertheless, defense is still the best offense of the Broncos, who are set to head back home for an encounter with the AFC South-leading Texans. The Super Bowl 50 champs are 8-2 SU and 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 games at the Mile-High City.
The return of Kubiak should stabilize things offensively and most importantly give QB Trevor Siemian enough space, time and opportunities inside the pocket to unleash some shots downfield. Overall though, expect the Denver offense to run the ball heavily against Houston’s shaky rushing defense (126.3 YPG).
