Houston vs Tennessee Betting Lines & Preview

The Tennessee Titans enter Sunday on the NFL’s longest winning streak at six games and that’s most likely not ending against a very bad Houston Texans team. The Titans are double-digit favorites on the NFL odds.

How to Bet Texans at Titans NFL Odds & TV Info

When: Sunday, 1 PM ET
Where: Nissan Stadium
TV: CBS
Radio: http://www.siriusxm.com/nfl
Stream Option: NFLSUNDAYTICKET.TV
Opening NFL Lines: Titans -10 (total 44.5)

Last Season

The Titans won both matchup vs. the Texans in 2020 but both were close. The one in Nashville was 42-36 in OT. Derrick Henry took a direct snap and ran 5 yards for a touchdown 3:30 into overtime. The Titans) finished with a franchise-record 601 yards of total offense. They also became the first team in NFL history to have a passer throw for more than 350 yards with Ryan Tannehill finishing with 364 yards passing and someone rush for at least 200 yards in the same game as Henry rushed for 212 and a TD.

Why Bet on Houston?

Houston comes off its bye week on an eight-game skid and most of those not close. Starting QB Tyrod Taylor returned from a long injury absence in a 17-9 loss at Miami in Week 9. Taylor completed 24-of-43 passes for 240 yards and three interceptions. The Texans made four red zone trips and got three points out of it, and head coach David Culley did not offer a firm endorsement of Taylor continuing as starter.

“Right now, I’m just playing the best players that give us a chance to win,” Culley said during the bye “Whoever that is, that’s who we will play.” Taylor is a more polished quarterback at this moment than rookie Davis Mills, and should give the Texans a better chance to win in the immediacy if he can return to form.

Against the Fins, the Texans started on the offensive line, left to right, the quintet of Geron Christian Sr., Tytus Howard, Jimmy Morrissey, Justin McCray and Charlie Heck. Christian and Morrissey were filling in for Laremy Tunsil and Justin Britt, respectively.

“We’re going to use the same line we had last game out,” Culley said of this week. “Justin’s not quite ready yet, and Laremy’s not quite ready yet.” Tunsil, who’s been a Pro Bowl selection in each of the previous two seasons at left tackle, remains sidelined with a thumb injury.

The Texans offense hasn’t scored a touchdown in 16 quarters on the road since Week 2 at Cleveland. During the bye, players and coaches used the extra time to self-scout and find ways to improve their performance in the second half of the season. Texans quarterbacks are completing 65.4 percent of passes, but the offense is averaging just 204.3 passing yards and 14.2 points per game.

“I think being efficient is something that we’ve really looked at in self-scout over this week that we’ve been off,” Conley said. “We’ve looked at our inefficiencies on ‘give me’ plays. Say a team is playing zone coverage, we have a ‘give me’ where someone’s sitting right in the zone, exactly where they need to be at five or six yards, and it’s a ‘give me’ play where the quarterback can get the ball out of his hands quickly, we get five, seven yards a pop. There’s been a lot of inconsistency on those routes run.”

Why Bet on Tennessee?

The Titans edged the Saints 23-21 last week and have won six consecutive games, including five consecutive victories over 2020 playoff teams. The Titans are the second team ever to win five consecutive games with each win coming against a team that made the playoffs the previous season, joining the 2003 Eagles (Weeks 7-11).

Tennessee’s gauntlet consisted of victories over the Buffalo Bills (Week 6), Kansas City Chiefs (Week 7), Indianapolis Colts (Week 8), Los Angeles Rams (Week 9) and Saints (Week 10).

Ryan Tannehill completed 19-of-27 passes for 213 yards and a TD and rushed for a score vs. New Orleans. Tied 6-6 mid-second quarter, Tannehill tossed an interception to CB Marcus Williams in the back of the end zone that was called back for a roughing the passer penalty on Kaden Elliss. Tannehill flipped the scoreboard on the ensuing play with a one-yard sneak up the middle for a touchdown. It was Tannehill’s fourth performance of 2021 with at least one passing touchdown and at least one rushing touchdown — the most in the NFL through 10 weeks.

The Titans defense registered four sacks against the Saints, marking the third time in four games the unit had at least that many. Jeffery Simmons led the way against New Orleans with a pair of sacks, giving him five total sacks in the past two games. His 7.5 sacks in 2021 are a career high.

Pass-catching running back Jeremy McNichols is questionable this week with a concussion. McNichols has served as the Titans’ pass-catching back even when Derrick Henry was healthy.

VWith a win this week, Tennessee would have its longest winning streak (seven) since a 10-game streak to begin the 2008 campaign. A win would also make the Titans 9-2 in their first 11 games. In franchise history, the Titans/Oilers have won nine or more of their first 11 games five times (1991, 1999, 2000, 2003 and 2008).

A win would also guarantee the Titans a winning record for the sixth consecutive season (2016-21). The only previous stretch in which the Titans/Oilers achieved at least six straight winning records was a seven-year run from 1987-93.

Game Trends

Texans are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up loss.
Texans are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog.
Texans are 6-15 ATS in their last 21 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Titans are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. AFC South.
Titans are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win.
Favorite is 10-4 ATS in their last 14 meetings.