Texans vs Steelers: Week 3 Betting Odds Analysis

The undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers play host to the winless Houston Texans in this Sunday AFC matchup. Read on before making your way to the sportsbook to wager on this slugfest.

Betting Lines

Head-to-Head

In their two previous meetings, dating to 2014, the Mike Tomlin coached Steelers outscored the Bill O’Brien coached Texans by 64-29. The takeaway here is the surprising reminder that O’Brien has somehow been coaching this team going on seven years.

Houston Texans

Betting Record

Next game: vs Vikings

Last Game

The Texans drew one of the league’s elite teams, the Baltimore Ravens, for their home opener last week. They lost the turnover differential by two and were outgained on the ground by 179 yards. Near the end of the first quarter, Coach O’Brien went for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 34. (They didn’t convert.) Their 17-point loss flatters their performance.

While they did manage to get Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson on the ground four times, it was their own offense that clinched the under. The total, bet way down from 52, closed at 49½ giving under bettors who got the worst of the number a win by the hook. The Texans offense now grades as bottom tier.

Injury Report

Starting wide receiver Brandin Cooks injured his quad last game. Starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil banged his elbow. Both have been limited in practice this week but should play. In addition, they might return RB Duke Johnson who was a last-minute scratch last week. He’s been limited in practice, but worth checking to see if he’s out before kickoff.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Betting Record

Next game: at Tennessee

Last Game

The Steelers played host to the Denver Broncos as six-point home chalk. Pittsburgh knocked the Broncos’ starting QB Drew Lock out of the game in the second series. His backup, Jeff Driskel, performed in that admirable way a junior QB when the adrenaline starts pumping and the opposing defense hasn’t gotten to watch a single snap of your tape.

Driskel was abused for six sacks but the game never got out of their control. Three fourth-quarter scores flipped the ATS winner, which ended with Denver covering, in a 26-21 loss.

The Broncos’ come-from-behind efforts also tipped the game to the over, a total of 41, halfway through the final quarter.

Injury Report

At some point late in the last match, Steelers’ WR JuJu Smith-Schuster stayed off the field having injured his knee. HIs status is questionable, but his lack of participation in practice hints that he might be scratched by game time.

Otherwise, injury news trends to the positive for the Steelers. Starting O-lineman David DeCastro is progressing towards starting, and the rest of the roster reported full participation in practice.

Betting on the Game

Point Spread

Opening at 5½, early bettors took the points enough so that the spread now sits at four. We lean to the Steelers at this number and don’t expect it to fall much lower. (To be fair, we’re not in agreement with the sharp money that came early and bought the Texans at +5½ either, so…) Grab -4 while it’s still around.

Moneyline

Laying two to win one seems like an acceptable price for Pittsburgh in this situation. If you’re on board with playing the Steelers to win straight up at -200, we’d advise doing so sooner than later as we expect support to come in for the Steelers closer to game time based on the injury profile.

Over/Under

The total opened 45 and hasn’t seen any movement yet. We leaned to the over earlier in the week but are concerned about the absence of Smith-Schuster and will wait on the final reports before moving in that direction. Expect that number to notch up if he’s cleared to start.