Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans 8:30 PM
The NFL concludes its 13th week of football betting action on Monday night with the AFC South on display for sports bettors, as the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7, 3-8 ATS) invade Reliant Stadium to do battle with the Houston Texans (4-7, 4-7 ATS). These two divisional rivals met earlier this season in Jacksonville, with the Jags pounding out a 30-27 overtime victory. Houston got the better of the 6.5-point NFL betting line, and has now covered seven of the L/9 meetings between these teams.
The Texans have more wins against Jacksonville than any other team since joining the league in 2002. This will also be the first Monday Night Football game played in Houston since the Oilers left for Nashville.
Is there a team that appears to have put the season in the tank more than the Jags? In a year which the city of Jacksonville had high hopes and expectations, the Jaguars have simply fallen flat on their collective faces and will certainly be left home from the playoffs. Jacksonville has beaten just two teams with winning records this season, and is a very disappointing 1-5 SU and 0-6 ATS at home.
Last weekend, the team put forth an incredibly uninspired effort against the Minnesota Vikings at home, losing 30-12 as short favorites. As has been their problem all season, the running game let the Jags down again, as RBs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew only carried the ball nine times for 24 yards. That just isn’t going to get it done for a Jack Del Rio offense. 
Short of dropping 38 on the hapless Lions three weeks ago, Jacksonville hasn’t reached 20 points in a game since its bye week in the middle of October.
Houston’s 4-7 looks more impressive than Jacksonville’s 4-7, as the Texans have had a number of teams on the ropes and have been incredibly competitive since opening up the season 0-4. Short of a real clunker against Baltimore three weeks ago, Texans bettors have found themselves in just about every ball game they’ve played. Four of their ATS defeats were decided by less than a touchdown, and in each of those four games, they were ahead of the football betting line at some point in the 4th quarter.
HC Gary Kubiak has to be happy with what he has seen from his young squad, especially in its 16-6 victory at Cleveland last week. The Texans rolled up 383 yards of offense and held the Browns to just 240 total yards from scrimmage. Rookie RB Steve Slaton has been a forgotten hero amongst the rookie class this year, and inched closer towards 1,000 total yards by racking up 73 yards on 21 carries on the day.
The Texans are rare favorites in this NFL betting match-up, as the oddsmakers have made them three-point selections. The ‘total’ is set at 48.5.
Houston is a lofty 9-2 for ‘over’ bettors this season, and each of the L/3 meetings between these teams has surpassed the ‘total’, so consider banking on plenty of points again this weekend. Give yourself an early Christmas present this year, and boost your bankroll with Bookmaker Sportsbook in this terrific Monday Night NFL betting affair!
