Houston Texans at Jacksonville Betting Analysis, Lines & Odds

Two of the three teams in the race for the top pick in the 2022 NFL Draft will square off on Sunday, as the Jacksonville Jaguars will host the Houston Texans. Both teams are currently sitting at 2-11, while the Detroit Lions are 1-10-1, so the loser of this game will be one step closer to that top pick. That being said, it’s time to check our NFL Betting analysis for the upcoming match between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans.

NFL Betting Preview for Houston Texans vs Jacksonville Jaguars

Both of these teams have had their fair share of controversy over the past few months. Houston had a tumultuous offseason with the Deshaun Watson situation, head coaching search, and controversy within their front office.

As for Jacksonville, theirs started with the hiring of Urban Meyer as their head coach. He promptly hired a strength and conditioning coach who had been forced out of his previous job for making racial statements to his players. And that’s just the beginning.

After numerous stories had leaked about Meyer’s mistreatment of players and coaches, owner Shad Khan finally pulled the plug on Meyer’s tenure on Wednesday night, and the head coach was relieved of his duties. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will be the head coach of the Jaguars for the rest of the season.

So now that we’ve gotten all of the controversy surrounding both teams out of the way, we can finally get to the game itself. These two AFC South rivals have the two worst offenses in the league.

In their 13 games, the Texans have scored just 177 points, while the Jaguars are a field goal better with 180. Their defenses are also among the league’s worst, as Houston has given up 356 points on the season, with Jacksonville giving up 340.

Rookie QBs To Lead The Charge

Both teams will have rookie starting quarterbacks on Sunday. Trevor Lawrence, the top pick in last year’s NFL Draft, will be under center for Jacksonville, while Davis Mills will lead the Houston Texans. Lawrence has had a rough season for the Jaguars.

Many will blame Meyer for this, but Lawrence has also made his fair share of mistakes. Mills started while Tyrod Taylor was out with an injury, but Houston has decided to see if he is their quarterback of the future and will play him for the rest of the season.

Mills has played fairly well this season, even with a limited arsenal of weapons at his disposal. He has thrown for over 1700 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. Lawrence has had his moments, but he is coming off of a four-interception performance in last week’s game.

Lawrence also doesn’t have a very strong surrounding cast, so he has made due with what he has to work with. Having Meyer out of the system may also help Lawrence.

Meyer’s Departure Could Help Jacksonville Jaguars

In looking at the odds for this one, the oddsmakers have made the Jacksonville Jaguars a three-point home favorite. It will be interesting to see whether the firing of Meyers sparks or hinders the Jaguars.

It obviously sounds like many players were displeased with him and will be happy that he is no longer with the team. We think that it will spark them, so we’re going to pick the Jaguars to win this one.

We don’t foresee a high-scoring game, so we’ll go with Jacksonville winning this one 21-17.

I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?