The opening betting lines for Week 10 have been released and the Detroit Lions are road favorites against the Houston Texans.
The Detroit Lions (7-1) stay on the road in Week 10 traveling back to the state of Texas, this time to take on the Houston Texans (6-3). While this is the Lions’ fourth road game in the last five weeks, the Texans played last Thursday night and will be well-rested heading into this matchup.
Despite the travel schedule favoring Houston, the good folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook are leaning toward Detroit in this game and have set the opening betting line at Lions -3.5 points.
While the Lions continue to roll through their opponents, winning their last six, the Texans have hit a bit of a rough patch, losing two of their last three games. Their solo win was a three-point victory over the Colts, while their losses have come at the hands of the Packers (whom the Lions just beat 24-14 on Sunday) and the Jets (23-13).
Like the Lions, the Texans have been hit by the injury bug. Four weeks ago, they put star wide receiver Nico Collins on injured reserve, In Week 8, they lost stud wide receiver Stefon Diggs for the season (ACL), and in Week 9, reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson was forced from the game with an ankle injury and his status for this upcoming game could be in jeopardy.
On a positive note for the Texans, Collins is eligible to return to practice this week, and the team has been projecting him as a possible return to game action against the Lions. In his absence, The Texans have leaned more on their rushing attack— Joe Mixon is carrying the football 24-25 times a game in the last three weeks—and a deep wide receiver group. While Diggs is no longer an option, Tank Dell has stepped up and Xavier Hutchinson has flashed, while John Metchie and Robert Woods have helped pick up the slack.
Of course, quarterback C.J. Stroud is the straw that mixes the drink in Houston, but he’s had a bit of an up-and-down season so far. In the six games that the Texans have won, he has a quarterback rating of 103.2, but in the three losses, his quarterback rating has plummeted to 62.2, including being below 60 in his most recent two losses.
On defense, Houston has been very effective against the pass and the run. They were the No. 1 team in the NFL in creating pressures entering Week 9, No. 2 in DVOA defense, and No. 3 in sacks. That said, after Anderson went down the Texans struggled to generate pressures and finished the game with just 12 (per PFF), their second-lowest output of the season.
There’s no doubt the Texans have a talented roster, but a few injuries at key positions have messed with their rhythm and they’ve been out of sync the last few weeks. The Lions will be looking to take advantage wherever they can.
