Texans at Eagles: What Bettors Need to Know
By Ben Burns.
Philadelphia has struggled recently to live up to expectations after a straight-up loss. The Eagles are just 1-4 against the spread after a defeat.
They’ll try to buck that trend Thursday night, when the up-and-down Houston Texans visit Lincoln Financial Field.
Philadelphia (7-4, 7-4 ATS) saw its three-game win streak snapped in a 31-26 loss at Chicago Sunday. Michael Vick passed for 333 yards with two touchdowns, but also threw a costly interception in the end zone, fumbled four times and was sacked four times. It was the first loss of the season for the Eagles in a game that Vick started and finished.
The Texans (5-6, 5-6 ATS) are coming off a 20-0 pummeling of the fading Tennessee Titans. The win snapped a four-game slide for Houston and featured a brawl between Texans’ star receiver Andre Johnson and Titans’ corner Cortland Finnegan. Surprisingly, neither player was suspended, meaning Johnson will be on the field Thursday against a banged-up Eagle secondary that was lit up by Jay Cutler Sunday.
Philadelphia’s top corner Asante Samuel, the NFL’s interception leader, missed the Bears game with a knee sprain and is questionable to play Thursday. If Samuel can’t go, that leaves corners Dimitri Patterson, Joselio Hanson and rookie Trevard Lindley to matchup with Johnson. Needless to say, advantage Texans.
Still, the Eagles are unquestionably the stronger team. The 9-point spread is the most they’ve been favored by all season. It’s also the biggest underdog situation the Texans have faced this year.
THE LINE
The Eagles opened as 8-point favorites, but were giving as many as 9 at most outlets as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Texans are 3-2 ATS on the road, covering against the Jets, Raiders and Redskins and failing to cover in a pair of AFC South games at Indianapolis and Jacksonville.
The Eagles have a habit of playing their best football in early December. They are 11-2 ATS in Week 13 and 4-1 ATS in their five December games.
THE TOTAL
It opened at 50.5 and had seen very little movement as of Wednesday.
Statistically, that number is spot on. The Eagles are averaging 28.2 and allowing 23.4 points per game. The Texans are scoring 24 and surrendering 26.1 point per game.
After getting soaked by rain early in the week, clear skies with temperatures in the 30s and light winds are forecast for Thursday night.
The Over has hit in six of the last seven Eagles games. The Over is also 10-2 in the Eagles’ last 12 games following a straight-up loss.
The Over is 20-6 in the Texans’ last 26 games against at a team with a winning record.
The teams combined for 34 points in their last meeting, a 24-10 Eagles’ win in 2005.
INJURIES
Samuel practiced this week, but in a limited capacity. The short week certainly doesn’t help his cause. Bettors will want to pay close attention to his status.
In addition to Samuel, wide receiver Riley Cooper is questionable. The No. 4 receiver missed practice Monday and Tuesday.
Defensive end Juqua Parker has been ruled out. Rookie Brandon Graham will make his second straight start for the Eagles.
Running back LeSean McCoy (shoulder) was a full participant in practice and will play.
For the Texans, tight end Own Daniels missed practice on Monday and Tuesday and is questionable. Defensive end Mario Williams, linebacker Brian Cushing and receiver Kevin Walter were limited in practice but are expected to play.
Texans take on Eagles in Thursday special
By: Stephen Nover
Thanks to Indianapolis losing at home this past Sunday night to San Diego, the Houston Texans are just one game out of first place in the AFC South Division.
So Thursday night’s road game at Philadelphia (5:20 PT, NFL Network) is important for the Texans.
That’s bad news for Houston since the Texans seem to play better when out of contention. NFL oddsmakers have more bad news for Houston with Philadelphia favored by a full touchdown. Thursday's total opened at 50½.
The Texans moved their record to 5-6 taking advantage of the ineptness of third-string rookie quarterback Rusty Smith this past Sunday in shutting out Tennessee, 20-0, as five-point home favorites. The combined 20 points fell well ‘under’ the 46 ½-point total.
Philadelphia is tied for first in the NFC East with the New York Giants at 7-4. The Eagles, though, are off a 31-26 road loss to Chicago as three-point favorites. The combined 57 points flew ‘over’ the 41 ½-point total.
It was the first time in six games where Michael Vick started and finished that the Eagles lost. Vick threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns. Vick, however, threw his first interception in four years.
Vick, who spent 1 ½ years in prison for an illegal dog fighting ring, had thrown 238 straight passes without an interception. DeSean Jackson was held to only two receptions for 26 yards against the Bears.
Jackson is Vick’s big-play wide receiver with a 19.8 average on 35 receptions and five touchdown catches. Jeremy Maclin leads the Eagles with 51 catches for eight touchdowns, while averaging 14.7 yards per reception.
Philadelphia also is getting a big year from LeSean McCoy, who has rushed for 779 yards, is averaging 5.0 yards a carry and scored seven touchdowns.
Vick is generating some MVP buzz with a 13-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio while throwing for 1,941 yards and rushing for 419 yards despite missing nearly four games. He’ll be operating against a Texans secondary that ranks 31st in pass defense and was on pace to give up the second-most passing yards in NFL history until drawing Smith and the Titans.
But that’s not the only reason why this matchup has the highest ‘over/under’ on the Week 13 NFL card.
Houston has a top-10 offense featuring the NFL’s leading rusher, Arian Foster. He’s run for 1,147 yards with 13 touchdowns, one behind Kansas City wide receiver Dwayne Bowe for most touchdowns in the NFL.
Quarterback Matt Schaub has a number of dangerous receiving threats, including Foster and Andre Johnson, who dodged a suspension after throwing punches at Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan.
Overshadowed in that fight with Finnegan was Johnson becoming the first player in league history to catch at least 60 passes during each of his first eight seasons.
Foster sparked the Texans past the Titans rushing for 143 yards and catching nine passes. He has gone for at least 100-yards rushing six times this year. The victory against Tennessee was the first time Houston held a foe to fewer than 24 points all season.
Houston is 3-8-2 ATS following a spread cover.
Philadelphia hasn’t been at full strength in its defensive backfield. Cornerback Ellis Hobbs is lost for the season with a neck injury, while Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel missed last Sunday with a knee injury.
Samuel has missed two games this season. It’s probably not a coincidence that in those two games the opposing quarterbacks, Jay Cutler and Alex Smith, had their finest efforts combining for 556 passing yards with a seven-to-two touchdown-to-interception ratio. Samuel is ‘questionable.’
The ‘over’ has cashed in six of the Eagles’ last seven games. The ‘over’ has cashed in three of Houston’s past four games.
The teams last met in 2006 with the Eagles winning 24-10 at Houston.
The weather forecast is for partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the 30s and 12 mph winds.
Texans at Eagles
By Kevin Rogers
The Texans and Eagles kick off the month of December in the NFL with Thursday's matchup at Lincoln Financial Field. Both teams are coming off dramatically different results last week as Houston shut out Tennessee, while Philadelphia fell short at Chicago. However, the biggest storyline entering this contest is the status of Houston's biggest weapon, which dodged a huge bullet from the league.
Andre Johnson did not receive a suspension from the NFL after his fight with Tennessee's Cortland Finnegan, as both players received a hefty fine for their much-publicized skirmish in the fourth quarter of the 20-0 win. Luckily for the Texans, Johnson will play against the Eagles as Houston tries to keep up its hopes of sneaking back into the crowded AFC South race. Entering Thursday's action, all four teams in the division are within one game of each other as Houston sits at 5-6, while Jacksonville and Indianapolis own 6-5 records.
Houston's defense put together its best effort of the season by shutting down a Titans' offense led by rookie quarterback Rusty Smith. Tennessee was held to 162 yards and nine first downs, while Chris Johnson picked up just five yards on seven carries. The Texans easily cashed as 5 ½-point favorites for their first home cover since the season opener against Indianapolis. Arian Foster torched the Colts in Week 1 and put together another stellar game on the ground against the Titans with 143 yards on 30 carries.
The Eagles weren't as fortunate after exiting Soldier Field with a 31-26 setback as three-point road favorites. The momentum killer for Philadelphia was Michael Vick's first interception of the season (on a tipped ball) at the goal line with the Eagles trailing, 14-13 before halftime. Chicago cashed in on that turnover by scoring a touchdown in the final minute of the half, followed by a touchdown on the first drive of the second half to bury Philadelphia with a 28-13 hole. Jay Cutler turned in his most productive game with four touchdown passes, aided by the absence of Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel, who missed the contest with a sprained knee.
The loss to Chicago was the first for Philadelphia this season in six games in which Vick played from start to finish. The Eagles begin Week 13 tied atop the NFC East at 7-4 with the Giants, after New York rallied past Jacksonville. Philadelphia has won three straight home games following losses to Green Bay and Washington in the first four weeks of the season. The three victories have come against all quality opponents by beating the Falcons, Colts, and Giants, while the lone-cover came in a two-point win over Indianapolis as 3 ½-point 'chalk.'
Many are expecting points to be put up at the Linc as the Eagles have hit the 'over' in six of their last seven games, while the Texans are 4-2 to the 'over' in their previous six contests. Houston's defense may have pitched a shutout last week, but the Texans rank 28th in the league in yards allowed (386.4) and 26th in points allowed (26.1). The secondary has been chewed up as well with the Texans giving up 286 yards/game, which ranks just ahead of New England for last in the NFL.
Under Gary Kubiak, the Texans own a dreadful 0-9 ATS mark against opponents off a SU/ATS away loss, including a non-cover in the Week 6 comeback victory over the Chiefs. Another ugly number is the 2-8 ATS ledger since 2006 as a road underdog off a home win, as the Texans lost by 13 at Indianapolis after the Kansas City win.
The Eagles have been coin-toss proposition as a home favorite since the start of the 2009 season, going 5-5 ATS, including a 2-2 ATS mark this season. Philadelphia owns a mediocre 6-8 ATS record since 2005 at home off a road loss, as the Eagles failed to cover in the 26-24 victory over the Colts.
Andy Reid's team is 4-7 ATS since 2008 against AFC opponents, but three of those covers have come at home. In that same span, the Texans are 3-8-2 ATS when taking on NFC foes, as Houston has won its last two interconference road games against Washington and St. Louis (2009).
Two of the three Thursday night NFL Network games have finished 'under' the total, including last week's 26-10 triumph by the Jets with a closing total of 43. The Thursday night games are now 7-2 to the 'under' since the start of last season with the only two 'overs' hitting between Atlanta and Baltimore in Week 11 and Indianapolis/Jacksonville in Week 15 of 2009.
The Eagles are listed as an 8½-point favorite, while the total is set between 50½ and 51 at most outlets. The game will be televised on NFL Network and kicks off at 8:30 PM EDT.
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