Raiders vs. Texans Odds
The 2017 NFL Playoffs get underway today when the Houston Texans host the Oakland Raiders at 4:35PM ET.
According to the oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Texans are favored at home in this game, as Houston is getting odds of -3.5 points against the Raiders. The over/under total for the contest is listed at just 37 points. Houston has been favored all weak, with the spread opening at 3 and peaking at 4. The public betting for the game is slightly with Houston, as the Texans are getting 59 percent of the wagers. These two met this season, with Oakland getting a 27-20 win at home, but the two teams looked much different than they do today.
Oakland claimed the top Wild Card spot in the AFC after going 12-4, but that still wasn’t good enough to win the AFC West. The Raiders don’t look like much of a playoff team right now as their quarterback situation is a mess. Derek Carr, who threw for 3,937 yards and 28 touchdowns this season, is out for the playoffs due to a broken leg. Matt McGloin was his replacement, but he suffered a shoulder injury in a Week-17 loss to the Broncos. Now, rookie Connor Cook is getting the start, the first of his career. Cook is 14 of 21 passing this season for 150 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Cook leads an offense that averaged 373 yards per game this season. He will likely need a boost from his run game, which averaged 120 yards per contest in 2016. Latavius Murray is the leading rusher with 788 yards and 12 touchdowns while Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington each have over 460 yards. Defensively, Oakland is giving up 24.1 points and 375.1 yards per game. That will have to improve today. Oakland will turn to Khalil Mack to lead the unit. Mack has 73 tackles and 11 sacks to lead Oakland in 2016 on defense.
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Houston claimed the AFC South title this season by going 9-7, which earns them a home game today. The Texans were just 6-9-1 against the spread this season, but did have a 7-1 record straight up at home. Houston also has quarterback issues as the Texans benched Brock Osweiler a few weeks back for poor play, only to see his replacement Tom Savage get injured. Savage will not be able to play due to a concussion, which means Osweiler gets the start today. Osweiler was one of Houston’s big offseason signings, but he hasn’t lived up to his contract. Osweiler completed just 59 percent of his passes this season for 2,957 yards with 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He will have to rely on another big signing, Lamar Miller¸ who rushed for 1,073 yards for Houston this year. Houston does have a very good defense that is allowing just 20.5 points and 301.3 yards per game. The Texans are holding opposing pass games to just 201.6 yards per game. They have managed to do this without J.J. Watt on the field all season. Benardrick McKinney is leading the unit with 129 tackles and five sacks.