Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans Preview
Where: NRG Stadium — Houston, TX
When: Sunday, October 16, 2016, 8:30 PM ET
Line: Indianapolis Colts (+3) at Houston Texans (-3); total: 46.5 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: NBC
Writer’s Pick: Houston Texans (-3)
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Betting on the Indianapolis Colts (+3)
The Indianapolis Colts opted to quicken the pace on Sunday, which fortunately resulted to a badly-needed 29-23 win over Chicago. They’ll now try to see if that approach can secure them another victory in this Sunday night’s trip to Houston.
Andrew Luck was 28-for-39 with 322 yards and two scores, the last one being a go-ahead touchdown pass to T.Y. Hilton in the last few minutes of the final period against the Bears. Hilton finished with a total of 10 passes for 171 yards, marking his second 100-yard game of the season. The Colts, however, will have to add in more ground plays since the Texans D is currently the best in the league in stopping the pass (181.0 yards allowed per contest).
Expect Luck to consistently feed Frank Gore, Indy’s leading rusher. The 33-year-old back is averaging 4.2 yards per carry and has found the end zone twice through five games. He should be able to find success against Houston’s underachieving front seven. The Texans are giving up 119.4 rushing yards per game, the eight-highest in the NFL today.
The win over the Bears was nice, but it didn’t solve the defensive issues for Indianapolis. The team is surrendering 410.6 yards of total offense thus far, including 522 yards last week.
Luck and co. are 4-6 SU and ATS in their previous 10 games on the road.
Betting on the Houston Texans (-3)
Five weeks into the season, Brock Osweiler is still not playing like a franchise quarterback that the Houston Texans hoped (and paid) for him to be.
The former Broncos quarterback continued his struggles on Sunday, completing just 19 of his 42 passes for 184 yards and a single touchdown in the 31-13 loss to the Vikings. Osweiler also threw for an interception—his seventh of the year. He’s now had at least one pass picked in each week this season.
In spite of the inefficiency of Osweiler, the Texans have to be happy of their current standing—atop of the AFC South. That’s mainly thanks to their solid defense. They are allowing just 20.8 points per game and 300.4 yards of total offense, both of which are among the fewest in the league today.
Week 6 could be a different and better story for Houston, though. Its defense will be tested by an Andrew Luck-led offense, but Osweiler should fare a lot better in leading his team’s own offense past a wobbling Indianapolis D.
The Texans are 7-3 SU and ATS in its last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Houston (-3) wins, 23-17.
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