MNF Betting News and Notes October 10/8

NFL Week 5

Texans (4-0) @ Jets (2-2) — NY-area panic mongers have Jets dead in water after pair of losses that surrounded less-than-stellar OT win in Miami and season-ending injury to defensive ace Revis, but fact is they’re tied for first in division and facing team they’re 5-0 against, with three of five wins by 15+ points. Now would be good time for Jets to reveal grand plan as to why Tebow was brought to Swamp—he hasn’t been much of factor thus far, and team has completed just 44.1% of passes in last three games (team has 2 TDs on last 33 drives). Houston is on road for third time in last four weeks; they’ve won in Denver and outsacked opponents 13-3 this year- they had two defensive scores last week and already have four TD drives of less than 50 yards. Texans convert 45.2% (28-62) on 3rd down and are +7 in turnovers, throwing just one pick in four games. Desperate home dogs have long been solid value of Monday nights, but in this case, it takes leap of faith on Sanchez’ Jets.

Armadillosports.com

MNF - Texans at Jets
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com

The Texans have rolled through all four of their opponents as Houston looks for the first 5-0 start in franchise history on Monday night. The Week 5 card closes out at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey, as the Texans take on a dysfunctional Jets' squad that still has a chance to go above .500 with a victory.

Rex Ryan's club is missing its top offensive weapon in Santonio Holmes, as the former Super Bowl MVP suffered a season-ending foot injury in last Sunday's 34-0 home defeat to the 49ers. The worst part about losing Holmes was the timing of the injury with the Jets already down 17-0 when the receiver fumbled and taken back for a touchdown to put the game away. San Francisco cashed as 3½-point road favorites, while the Jets were limited to just nine first downs and 145 yards offensively.

The question heading into Monday night is how much longer will Mark Sanchez remain the starting quarterback for the Jets? The ex-USC standout is completing just 49% of his passes, while connecting on only two touchdowns in the last three games, following a three-touchdown performance in the opening week blowout of the Bills. The 48 points scored against Buffalo may seem like a huge fraud as 14 of these points came from the defense and special teams, as the Jets have scored 33 points the last three contests.

While the Tim Tebow rumors swirl around the Jets, the Texans have no questions at their quarterback position with Matt Schaub completing 67% of his passes, while owning a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 7/1. Houston has scored at least 27 points in all four victories, including a season-high 38 points in last Sunday's 24-point rout of Tennessee to easily cash as 13-point favorites. Three of Houston's four wins have come by at least 20 points, while in the victory over Denver in Week 3, the Texans held a 20-point advantage late in the third quarter before holding off the Broncos by six points.

New York's secondary took a major hit when Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis tore his ACL in a Week 3 overtime victory at Miami, as the Jets allowed 379 yards to San Francisco. When Revis missed the Week 2 loss at Pittsburgh with a concussion, Ben Roethlisberger shredded the Jets' defense for 275 yards and two touchdowns.

Houston is the longest road favorite on a Monday night this season, as the Texans look to beat the Jets for the first time in six tries. The last time these teams hooked up in November 2010, Gary Kubiak's team rallied from a 23-7 deficit to take a late 27-23 lead, but Sanchez found Holmes on a 6-yard touchdown strike in the final seconds for a 30-27 triumph. The Texans managed the cover in the loss, cashing as 6½-point road underdogs, but the loss dropped Houston to 0-5 in five lifetime meetings with New York.

The AFC South leaders have dropped three straight Monday night contests since 2009, with the last game being a home overtime defeat to the Ravens in 2010 as three-point underdogs. Houston is pretty reliable in the road favorite role since the start of last season, compiling a 5-1 SU/ATS record, including victories over Jacksonville and Denver.

The Jets suffered their first loss as a home underdog in Ryan's tenure against San Francisco, falling to 3-1 SU/ATS. This is the sixth Monday night game for New York since 2009, as the Jets have put together a mediocre 2-3 SU/ATS mark, as one of those wins came over the Dolphins last season, 24-6 as seven-point 'chalk.'

The Texans opened as seven-point favorites, but the number has jumped to eight at most spots, while possibly going up to nine by game-time. The total is set at 40, with several 40½'s floating out there. The game kicks off at 8:30 PM from Met Life Stadium and can be seen nationally on ESPN.

Texans at Jets: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com

Houston Texans at New York Jets (9, 40.5)

Rex Ryan called this year's edition of the New York Jets his best team yet. Crushing injuries to two of his best players may prevent Ryan from ever finding out if he was right. New York will look to bounce back from a humiliating home loss to San Francisco when it hosts the undefeated Houston Texans on Monday night. The Jets absorbed another body blow this week when they learned that former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes would be lost for the season with a Lisfranc injury suffered in Sunday's 34-0 loss. That robs the team of its best offensive playmaker one week after all-world cornerback Darrelle Revis suffered a season-ending knee injury.

LINE: Texans -9, O/U 40.5

WEATHER: Forecasts are calling for temperatures in the low-50s under partly cloudy skies. Wind shouldn’t be a factor.

ABOUT THE TEXANS (4-0): Houston has fashioned its perfect record with the blueprint that Ryan has been seeking: A balanced offense built on a bruising running game and a dominating defense that leads the league in a slew of categories, including fewest points allowed per game (14). Three of the Texans' four wins have been by at least 20 points, and they led by 20 points before holding off a late comeback in a 31-25 win at Denver in Week 3. Quarterback Matt Schaub has looked sharp in his return from last season's Lisfranc injury, completing 67 percent of his passes and throwing for seven touchdowns against one interception. Arian Foster has scored four rushing touchdowns and is averaging 95 yards per game on the ground.

ABOUT THE JETS (2-2): New York is coming off a woeful effort in the loss to the 49ers, managing only 145 total yards and nine first downs. The whispers for Tim Tebow are getting louder after starting quarterback Mark Sanchez completed 13 of 29 passes for only 103 yards and an interception. It marked the third consecutive game that Sanchez has completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes. Rookie wideout Stephen Hill, the team's second-round draft pick, sat out last week's game with a concussion and could miss Monday's matchup. The ground game continues to go nowhere - running back Shonn Greene has rushed for only 97 yards on 41 carries in the last three games.

TRENDS:

* Texans are 1-4 ATS in their last five meetings.
* Under is 4-1 in the last five meetings.
* Texans are 7-1 ATS in their last eight road games.
* Jets are 1-4 ATS in their last five Week 5 games.

EXTRA POINTS:

1. Schaub has won eight consecutive starts dating to last season.

2. The Jets have won all five meetings with the Texans, including a 30-27 victory in November 2010 when Sanchez threw for 315 yards and three TDs.

3. Texans WR Andre Johnson needs 76 yards to reach 10,000 for his career.