NFL Betting Spread – Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Sunday, December 6th – 1:00 PM ET
Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Jacksonville
NFL Betting Spread: PICK, O/U 46.5
Both teams need a win to preserve any hope in the AFC Wild Card chase. A loss for either team could mean an early end to the season. Jacksonville has the easier schedule and a better chance, despite last week 20-3 embarrassment against San Francisco. The Jags have won four straight at home, and their next three games (including this one) take place at Municipal Stadium.
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The Texans are coming off a tough loss against Indy last week. Houston actually had an early 17-0 lead, but blew it horribly and lost 35-27. Matt Schaub showed both sides of his personality in the loss.
Some days he looks like a poor-man’s version of Drew Brees (that’s a compliment), with the ability to throw the ball anywhere and make big plays. Other times he looks lost and confused and tries to force plays he has no business trying to force. Which Schaub shows up down the stretch will go a long way in determining Houston’s playoff hopes.
What The Texans Have To Do To Win
The Texans need to score early and force Jacksonville to abandon the run. Last week the 49’ers did just that and dominated the entire game. Jacksonville is much more comfortable running the ball, so disrupting that flow will go far in determining the outcome of the game.
It shouldn’t be too hard, considering Jacksonville owns the 26th ranked passing defense and Houston boasts the third best passing offense. A hot start should begat a Texans win. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
What The Jaguars Have To Do To Win
The Jags have been successful when Maurice Jones-Drew has been successful, so that should be their strategy for the rest of the season. Last week they abandoned the run after falling early, so they can’t let that happen again.
MJD has to be a factor or else Jacksonville has no chance at winning. They don’t match well against Houston in the air, so they’ll have to make sure the Texans can’t run the ball. That favors Jacksonville more, as the Jags are in the top 10 of rushing defense and Houston is ranked 28th in rushing offense.
Outlook & Pick
If the Jags control the run, they’ll win. If the Texans control the passing game, they’ll win. Neither team can defend each other’s strengths very well, so there should be a lot of scoring. It all depends on which defense surprises and is able to step up when they need to. Neither team’s defense has shown any indication they have the ability to do that. So when it doubt, pick the home team.
Winning Pick: Jaguars PICK, over 46.5
Prop Betting: Team To Score First And Score In First 7.5 Minutes
The Jags should be able to score first. Despite needing an efficient passing game to win, Houston will most likely spend the first part of the game trying to establish the run and keep the Jags off balance. MJD will be able to slice through the Texans rush defense with relative ease, and provide the first points for his team.
Prop Betting Pick: Jacksonville Will Score First, No Score In First 7.5 Minutes