Texans vs. Colts: Prediction and Odds for Week 1 (Houston underdogs)

What are the odds for the Texans against the Colts in Week 1?

The Houston Texans begin the 2022 NFL regular season in the midst of a rebuild of the franchise, by facing AFC South foe, the Indianapolis Colts.

In what is year two of making the Texans competitive once again, the front office has made chances to improve both the offense and defense of the franchise, even naming defensive-minded Lovie Smith as the new head coach as he was promoted to the position after being the defensive coordinator in 2021.

Adding better players to both the offense and defense in 2022 will hopefully not only make the Texans a more competitive football team, but add some more wins along the way as the past two seasons has seen Houston have overall records of 4-13 in 2021 and 4-12 in 2020.

A couple positives to the offense as the team heads into Week 1 is the fact Pep Hamilton has been named the offensive coordinator, as he was the quarterbacks coach last season. The rookie class of the Texans should be exciting too, especially the big three from the first two rounds with those players being Derek Stingley Jr. at cornerback, Kenyon Green at offensive guard and Jalen Pitre at safety.

Now let’s take a look at the betting odds and give a prediction for the upcoming game against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Texans vs. Colts Odds Week 1

According to FanDuel, the Colts are-7.5 favorites in their road game against the Texans, with Indianapolis’ moneyline sitting at -340. As for the Texans, they are underdogs at +275.

The over/under for this game is set at 45.5.

Texans vs. Colts Prediction Week 1

With the Texans having a large deficit to overcome in Week 1 in the betting department, that doesn’t mean they aren’t able to gain the upset and leave the season opener with a victory. All betting ideas aside, the revamped Texans offense should be able to score more points against the Colts than the three total points in two games played a season ago.

This game will come down to if Houston can establish a rushing attack with rookie Dameon Pierce to help second-year quarterback Davis Mills, and if the Houston defense can slow down Jonathan Taylor and keep the Colts running back from having another 140-plus yard, two-touchdown game against them like he did last season on two occasions.

The Texans have a lot going against them in Week 1 as they also will be facing a tough Colts defense that has to have something to prove after imploding late last season. So, Houston in that aspect must be prepared for a Colts defense ready to show they aren’t the defense that lost to Jacksonville at the end of last season.

If Houston can control the football and keep Taylor off the field they can win, but that is a big ask for Week 1. Considering Houston has lost seven of the past eight games verses the Colts, this one will be more competitive than last year, but the Colts win, 30-21.