The race for the AFC South crown got a whole lot more interesting based on the results from Week 12, as the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars -- with wins over the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals respectively -- both gained a game on the Indianapolis Colts, who let an 11-point 4th quarter lead slip away at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs. These three Week 12 results set up for what is without question the most important game of the season in this division.
On the final Sunday of November, the Texans will face the Colts in Indianapolis, which once upon a time was a house of horrors for Houston. Dating back to 2002, when the Colts were still playing in the RCA Dome and the Texans were an expansion franchise, Houston failed to earn a win in Indy in their first 13 games in Naptown.
More recently though, the Texans have had a reversal of fortunes at Lucas Oil Stadium. In each of their last three road games in Indianapolis, Houston has emerged with a win, and if they could make it four straight in the Big Oil Drum this Sunday, only one game would separate these two AFC South teams in the standings.
Right now, it appears as if bettors believe the Texans recent run of success is going to continue as they hit the road and head to Indianapolis.
According to Scores and Odds, as of Monday afternoon, 83% of bets and 84% of the money bet on the game thus far have come in on the Houston Texans, who are a 4.5 point road underdog. Assuming the money keeps coming on in Houston, this line is sure to shift between now and kickoff.
Whether this is a good thing for the Texans remains to be seen. There's a school of thought that the sharp bettors often will go against the market whenever there's one-sided action like this. It's still early. This initial backing of the Texans could be a combination of overreactions based on Week 12's results. But even still, it's looking like this Texans bandwagon is picking up steam AND supporters.