Eagles @ Texans NFL betting picks – Thursday Night Football

Week 9 of the NFL season will kick off with a Thursday Night Football battle between the Houston Texans and the Philadelphia Eagles at NRG Stadium. These teams are trending in complete opposite directions, and while on paper this game looks ugly, anything can happen on Thursday nights in the NFL. Here are our best bets for the game, with odds courtesy of Bovada.

Eagles @ Texans spread pick: Houston +14

In this battle between one elite team and one terrible team, we are siding with the 1-5-1 Texans. While it feels gross, this line is far too much for a Thursday night game. Thursday Night Football is usually marred by sloppy play and silly mistakes due to the lack of rest and time to plan. The Texans should get blown out, and if it was on Sunday we probably wouldn’t make this pick. But as a home underdog getting 14 points in this spot, give us the Texans — even if it feels gross right now.

Eagles @ Texans total points: Under 45

After a 5-1 start to the season, the under has lost in the past two Thursday night games. That shouldn’t be the case here. This is mainly counting on the Eagles offense not living up to expectations. While their offense can be elite, we already noted how the Thursday night game leads to sloppy play, and that should happen in this contest. If the Eagles slow down a little, the under should hit easily because the Texans have no semblance of an NFL-caliber offense. The Texans have scored over 20 points only one time this season and they should really struggle against a strong Eagles defense.

Texans anytime touchdown scorer: Dameon Pierce

In the terrible Texans offense, there has only been one consistent performer and that has been Dameon Pierce. He is a rookie running back who has really impressed in a large role and he looks like a future star. While the Texans offense struggles to score, Pierce has four touchdowns in his last five games and he is fed opportunities when the Texans get near the endzone. They may not be in the redzone a lot in this game, but we still like Pierce’s odds to score.

Eagles anytime touchdown scorer: A.J. Brown

A.J. Brown is an elite receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles and he is a certified matchup nightmare around the endzone. He has four touchdowns in his past two games for the Eagles and the Texans don’t have any cornerbacks who can really match up with him. Brown also possesses game-breaking speed and is a threat to break a long touchdown on any play. We think Brown will continue to be highly involved in the Eagles’ offensive gameplan and these odds present great value.

Brandin Cooks receiving yards: Under 59.5

Brandin Cooks is a solid receiver stuck in an awful situation. While he has the talent to make plays, his quarterback, Davis Mills, routinely misses him when he is open. In turn, Cooks has had a bad year. Through eight games, he has only cleared this number two times, and now he has a matchup with an elite corner back. Darius Slay should lock Cooks down in this contest, and even though the Texans project to pass a lot in this game due to being down, they are losing in most of their games and it has not mattered when it comes to Cooks. All signs point to the under on receiving yards for Cooks, and it’s our favorite prop bet for this game.

More sports betting picks