Houston Texans Wild Card Playoffs: Favorites vs. Indianapolis Colts
Many of the experts seem to be leaning towards picking the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card Playoff game vs. the Houston Texans, but what do the experts in Las Vegas think?
Wild Card weekend is almost here and for the Houston Texans they will face the red-hot Indianapolis Colts for a third time this season. This meeting has everything on the line. The Texans won the AFC South championship with an 11-5 overall record this season, and the Colts are a No. 6 seed at 10-6, winning nine of their past 10 games.
Both the Texans and Colts have a win against each other, with both teams gaining their win by three points with the Texans winning 37-34 in overtime in September, and the Colts winning 24-21 in early December.
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In their past five games, against the spread (according to OddsShark.com), the Texans are 2-1-2 and 7-7-2 for the season. Indianapolis is 8-7-1 ATS. In home games this season, the Texans are 4-4 ATS, while on the road the Colts are 5-3 ATS.
None of that matters now, as on Saturday, Jan. 5 is what matters with the Texans hosting Andrew Luck and the Colts at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
This game will be the first of four Wild Card games played over Saturday and Sunday, and for Houston they have a chance to prove those wrong who believe the Colts are the better overall team.
What about the experts in Las Vegas? Who are the odds makers leaning towards this upcoming Saturday afternoon in the playoff game? According to OddsShark.com the Texans are a -2 to -1 point favorite against the Colts, basically meaning this is not only going to be a close game, but even the folks in Las Vegas can’t predict how this game will play out.
This game features two of the top young quarterbacks in the NFL with Luck of the Colts and Deshaun Watson of the Texans both having Comeback Player of the Year seasons, as both had injuries which affected their 2017 seasons.
Houston also has to find a way to keep the Colts defense away from Watson, including linebacker Darius Leonard who has a team-high 111 tackles and seven sacks, which is second best on the Colts. Leonard could cause a lot of problems for the Texans this Saturday, as in the two previous games he combined for 25 tackles and two sacks.
Nobody seems to be at 100-percent as to who they believe will win this game, but it is going to come down to how high of a level the entire team plays, because the Texans need to see a boost in their rushing game, while the Colts must put a stop to DeAndre Hopkins.
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Fans should be excited for this game whether they are a fan of the Texans, Colts or any other team in the NFL. For football fans, the first playoff game of the postseason is an exciting event, and if recent history from this season tells us anything, it is this should be a closely played game.