Jaguars vs. Texans Pick
Will the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars have another defensive battle when the two meet up Sunday at 1PM ET?
According to the oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Texans are favored at home in this game, as they are getting odds of -6 points against the Jaguars. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 39 points. Houston has won five straight over Jacksonville, including a 24-21 win on the road back on Nov. 13. These two have hit the over in three of their last four meetings.
Houston is coming off a big 22-17 win at Indianapolis last week to improve to 7-6 on the season and remain tied atop the AFC South standings. The Texans hit the under for the third straight time in the win and are now 8-5 with the under this season. Houston is about defense, as it is giving up just 21.1 points and 329.9 yards per game on the year. Their pass defense is holding opponents to only 224.2 passing yards per game. The defense has some concerning injuries as Jadeveon Clowney (elbow) and Brian Cushing (back) are both listed as questionable. Offensively, Houston is struggling, putting up only 17.6 points and 330.4 yards per game. While Lamar Miller has run for 1,010 yards and four touchdowns, Brock Osweiler has struggled at QB. He has 2,656 passing yards with 14 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. In the Nov. 13 win over Jacksonville, Osweiler did throw for two touchdowns, but only had 99 yards on 14 of 27 passing.
Jacksonville is on an 8-game losing streak following a 25-16 loss to the Vikings at home last weekend. The Jags are 8-5 with the over this season, including last week’s game. The Jags are giving up 26 points per game on defense despite allowing just 326.7 yards per game on defense. Their pass defense has allowed only 213.5 passing yards per game. The team may be without their captain in Paul Posluszny, who is questionable with a neck injury. He has 107 tackles with 1.5 sacks this season. Offensively, Jacksonville is putting up just 18.5 points and 345 yards per game. The run game has been a mess, averaging under 100 yards per game. Chris Ivory has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. Blake Bortles has thrown for 3,187 yards and 21 touchdowns, but also has 15 interceptions.
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The Texans haven’t been able to score much because of Osweiler and I don’t think that will change against this Jacksonville defense. The Jags have been hurt more by their offense than the mistakes they have made. Jacksonville won’t move the ball much on this Houston defense either, so if Bortles can avoid turning the ball over much and giving short fields to the Texans, this game should go under the total.
NFL WEEK 15 PICK: JAGUARS/TEXANS UNDER 39