Raiders vs. Texans Week 8 Prediction
The Texans are a touchdown-plus favorite at home versus the Raiders on Sunday. Is Houston worth a play from bettors or is the value with the underdog Raiders when these teams kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot
267 Oakland Raiders (+6.5) at 268 Houston Texans (-6.5); O/U 52
4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday, October 27, 2019
NGR Stadium, Houston, Texas
Public Betting Trends
According to our NFL Football Public Betting Chart page, the Texans are receiving 59% of the betting tickets from online sportsbooks.
Oakland Raiders Fantasy Spin
Coach Jon Gruden confirmed that he expects Josh Jacobs (shoulder) to suit up Sunday against the Texans. Specifically, Gruden stated, “He’s a young player, obviously. He’s got a shoulder. We’re listening him as questionable. We’re expecting him to play but we’ll have to see how it goes.” The Raiders have been committed to feeding their first-round RB the rock in the run game, as he’s racked up 17, 26 and 21 carries in three games since back-to-back blowouts against the Chiefs and Vikings in Weeks 2 and 3. Still, Jacobs is better treated as a high-end RB2 than matchup-proof RB1 as long as Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington remain annoyingly involved, particularly as long as Jacobs is at risk for limited snaps while operating at less than 100 percent.
Houston Texans Fantasy Spin
Will Fuller (hamstring) has been ruled out for the Texans’ Week 8 matchup against the Raiders. Fuller is expected to miss several weeks and isn’t a guarantee to waltz back into a full-time role considering his troubling injury history over the years. The difference between this year’s version of the Texans Offense compared to last year without Fuller is that Kenny Stills possesses field-stretching ability that Demaryius Thomas and DeAndre Carter simply didn’t bring to the table. The former Dolphins WR has already demonstrated better-than-expected chemistry with Deshaun Watson, catching 15-of-19 targets for 293 yards and a score in five games.
NFL Betting Trends
Oakland
The Raiders are 6-1 against the spread in their last seven games coming off a loss but are just 5-15-1 at the betting window in their last 21 road games.
Houston
The Texans are 6-0-1 against the spread in their last seven games following an ATS loss.
Prediction
If Jacobs can’t play, I don’t see how the Raiders move the ball on Sunday. The Texans defense isn’t what it once was, but they’re still more than capable of holding a punchless Raiders team in check. Meanwhile, Oakland has zero pass rush, which should open things up for Deshaun Watson to pick apart a Raiders defense that has issues in its secondary as well. The favorite is 5-2 against the spread in the last seven meetings between these two teams and I like for that number to improve to 6-2 after today.
NFL Week 8 Prediction: Houston Texans -6.5