Texans vs. Saints Spread Prediction
The Texans are arguably the team to beat in the AFC South but they have a difficult challenge ahead of them tonight when they visit the Saints at 7:10 p.m. ET. Will New Orleans roll or will Houston cover as a sizable road dog?
Game Snapshot
479 Houston Texans (+6.5) at 480 New Orleans Saints (-6.5); O/U 52.5
7:10 p.m. ET, Monday, September 9, 2019
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
According to our NFL Public Betting Chart page, 59% of the betting tickets on tonight’s game are on the Saints to cover as a 6.5-point home favorite over the Texans.
Houston Texans Fantasy Spin
Kenny Stills was listed as a Will Fuller’s backup on the Texans’ depth chart. Stills was just acquired via trade, which clouds up a receiver group that already had DeAndre Hopkins, Fuller, and Keke Coutee. The depth chart doesn’t guarantee in-game usage, but Coutee was the starting slot receiver with Hopkins and Fuller on the outside. Stills, however, could rotate in and could earn a starting job once he gets more familiarized with the offense. For now, Stills is purely a bench stash.
New Orleans Saints Fantasy Spin
Saints activated DT Sheldon Rankins (Achilles’) from the active/PUP list. It’s both terrific news and a huge sigh of relief as Rankins was initially expected to miss all of training camp and potentially start the year on reserve/PUP. The 25-year-old excelled last season before tearing his Achilles’ in New Orleans’ Divisional matchup against the Eagles, notching 26 tackles and eight sacks over 642 snaps while garnering PFF’s No. 17 grade out of 112 qualifiers on the interior. Even if limited, he’ll undoubtedly make a huge impact against Houston’s swiss-cheese o-line if he’s on the field come Week 1.
Houston Betting Trends
The Texans are 3-7-1 against the spread in their last 11 road games and are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 games on Monday.
New Orleans Betting Trends
The Saints are winless against the spread in their last five games overall and are just 1-4 ATS in their last five Monday games.
Prediction
This is too many points. The Texans shored up one of the bigger weaknesses when they acquired Laremy Tunsil from the Dolphins. Did Bill O’Brien overpay? Perhaps, but Tunsil is nevertheless one of the better young left tackles in the game and Houston’s biggest issue a year ago was protecting QB DeShaun Watson. On the other side, Drew Brees had a rough end of the regular season and only slightly improved during the postseason. The Saints are usually more explosive offensively at home but I have questions about their defense. In a potentially high-scoring game, I like the Texans with the points.
NFL Week 1 Prediction: Houston Texans +6.5