- The Texans lost on the road to the Colts in Week 6.
- The Colts hold the tiebreaker over the Texans for the AFC South lead.
- After a bad loss, the Texans should come out of the gates scoring quickly.
HOUSTON – Thursday Night Football is here and bettors have plenty of options at US sportsbooks for what to wager on. The game line is the most common, with the Indianapolis Colts being 3.5-point underdogs to the Houston Texans.
Being at home, the Texans (-175) are the favorite to win over the Colts (+155), who won the first matchup of the season 30-23.
Now a month later, the Colts have cooled down but the Texans have yet to make their move to take control of the division. Tied atop the division with the same record, the Colts hold the tiebreaker due to their previous win.
With that, expect the Texans to come out swinging in attempts to make the postseason.
Bettors who have the utmost confidence in Houston should look at taking them on the first half betting line. Favored by three points, bettors have a standard wager in front of them but could also adjust the line to -5.5, moving the odds to +145.
The Colts have averaged 21 points over their last four games, with two games included where they scored only 15 and 12 points. If this trend continues, the offensive firepower of Houston should be able to put the Colts well behind from the start.
Speaking of getting off to a quick start, US sportsbooks also pose the question as to what quarter will be the highest-scoring one. While the second and fourth are generally always the heavy favorites, it gives bettors an opportunity to take a chance on an opening quarter filled with scoring or the same result directly after the halftime adjustments.
Picking the first quarter to be the high total (+600) pays out slightly higher than picking the third quarter to be the highest-scoring quarter (+500).
First Touchdown Scored In The Texans Colts Game
One of the most wagered on prop bets in the NFL stems from predicting which player will score the first touchdown of the game. Oftentimes, a heavy favorite or two set themselves atop the betting board well ahead of the pack. However, with these teams, there is no real idea as to who will be the first to get in the endzone.
With this, bettors should feel obliged at the odds for some skill players to score first:
Will Fuller (+1200) has three touchdowns on the year, but all three of those came in the same Week 5 game. Still, Fuller’s big-play ability sets him up to be a wise decision, especially with the odds presented.
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Darren Fells (+1400) is one of the two tight ends for the Texans that seem to share targets very evenly. Still, Fells has scored six touchdowns on the year but be advised that his snap count percentage has decreased over the last three weeks.
Kenny Stills (+1800) hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 1, but with the injury status of Fuller unknown, he would be a viable option to risk before the odds adjust with the injury news. Stills has seen 16 targets over the last three games, of which he started all of them.
Zach Pascal (+1400) has started the last four games and has seen at least six targets in his last three starts. While he has only found the endzone four times on the year (and once over the last four games, one might assume he is due.
Eric Ebron (+1400) has caught nine passes over the last two games but has only scored three touchdowns on the year – none occurring since Week 8. However, a big target in the RedZone is worth the +1400 odds, as Brissett could find him in a bailout situation.
Other Prop Bets In The Colts And Texans Game
Another prop bet in the Colts and Texans game is focused on individual player props. Duke Johnson’s projected receiving yardage is set at 23.5 yards. All it takes is one screen pass for Johnson to potentially get this mark, but the more likely situation is that Johnson becomes a consistent release valve for Deshaun Watson.
On the year, Johnson has compiled 24 or more receiving yards three times (of ten games). While this may keep bettors from taking the over, keep in mind that he has broken at least 20 receiving yards in all but two games.
As for the special team’s side of the game, Texans’ kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn is slated at 7.5 points in the game. All field goals are worth three points and point after completions are worth one. Taking the over is advised here, as a simple two field goal and two PAT conversion game would secure this wager for sports bettors.
Fairbairn has made at least two field goals in four of the last six Texans games. He has also averaged just under three PATs per game in the same time span. After the beatdown the Texans received on Sunday, expect the scoring to be much higher in this Thursday Night Football game.
While these prop bets will disappear before the 8:20 p.m. EST kickoff, bettors can still engage in live betting while the game is being played. Be sure to tune to FOX in order to stay up to date on the most recent plays to help you beat the sportsbook.
Michael spends most of his time betting on over/unders and analyzing algorithms in attempts to beat the book. His focus on statistics comes from an early understanding of mathematics as well as knowledge of opportunity costs. Michael enjoys playing basketball and reading about the NBA whenever he has the free time. When he is not writing, he can be found in Mississippi hitting the sportsbooks and enjoying a margarita… on the rocks, no salt.
