Texans vs. Jaguars Prediction
Are the Jacksonville Jaguars too much of a risk as a double-digit home favorite to cover against the Houston Texans Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET?
Who Oddsmakers Like: Jacksonville. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Jaguars are 10.5-point home favorites to beat the Texans, who opened as 11-point road dogs. The total, meanwhile, sits at 38 points after hitting the board at 40.
Who the Public Likes: As of Sunday morning, 54% of betting tickets are on the Texans to cover the spread and 66% of the money is also on Houston.
Who the Trends Like: Houston. The Texans are 5-1 against the spread in their last six trips to Jacksonville. The road team is also 6-1 against the number in the last seven meetings between these two teams while the underdog has cashed in five of the last six meetings.
Who We Like: Houston. Jacksonville will be without Leonard Fournette, who is still dealing with a quad injury. They should still win the game but I don’t like them to cover as a double-digit home favorite. Teams coming off a game against the Seahawks are 6-12 straight up and 3-15 against the spread when facing sub .500 opponents. Games against Seattle are usually physically draining and this is a pure letdown spot for the Jaguars, who thumped the Texans in Week 1 of the season in Houston.
Plus, T.J. Yates will be starting for the concussed Tom Savage. Usually when a team is down to their third-string quarterback it’s time to fade them. That said, Yates is 5-0 against the spread as an underdog in his NFL career. He’s more than capable of protecting the ball and orchestrating drives against a great Jacksonville defense, but a Jaguars team that might choose to sleepwalk through this game today.
NFL WEEK 15 PREDICTIONS: HOUSTON TEXANS +10.5