As we reach the halfway point in the 2022 NFL regular season only one unbeaten team remains. If you had the Philadelphia Eagles as the last team standing congratulations, you got a decent payday for showing faith.
Heading into their Week 9 Thursday Night Football matchup with the Houston Texans, the Eagles are in a good position to win their first eight games of a season for the first time in history. Philly has never lost to Houston going 5-0 SU and 3-1-1 ATS in five lifetime meetings and the Eagles opened as the biggest favorite on the Week 9 board laying 13.5 points.
The Week 9 Thursday Night Football contest between the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans will take place at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX at 8:15 p.m. ET on November 3, 2022 and will be shown on Prime Video.
Eagles vs Texans Odds
Philadelphia Eagles -13.5 ( -750 )
Houston Texans +13.5 ( +534 )
Over/Under 44
Odds Analysis
Philadelphia has been favored in every game this season, but no spread was bigger than the 13.5-points they’re spotting Houston. Laying 11-points to the Steelers last week, the Eagles cruised to their second straight payout, 35-13, behind four touchdowns from Jalen Hurts. After failing to cover the spread in the opener the Eagles are 5-1 ATS in their last six games. Record wise the Texans aren’t very good but they’ve been competitive. They lost a second straight game and for the fifth time in their last six outings, 17-10, to Tennessee on Sunday falling to 1-5-1. The closing line was an indication that oddsmakers don’t think the Texans are far off catching just a single point against the AFC’s top-seed from a season ago. A backup QB also helped. But this week’s line is a little more in tune with how the teams have played and their record.
Philadelphia Eagles
Hurts has joined the MVP conversation and has become a legitimate threat with his steady performance for the 7-0 Eagles. His stats didn’t jump off the page, but his ability to manage the game and value the football are reasons why the Eagles have been so good. Add a stingy defense to the mix and the Eagles are a Super Bowl favorite at this point. Hurts had one of his best games on Sunday throwing for 285 yards and four touchdowns with three of them coming in the first half all to A.J. Brown. Hurts has gone three games without throwing an interception and has just two picks on the season, the teams only turnovers all season.
We typically see teams that flourish in turnover margin rest at or near the top of the standings. The Eagles are the best by a wide margin thanks to a defense that leads the NFC with 10 interceptions and tops the entire league with 16 takeaways for a plus-14 differential. The next closest team is at plus-6. They’ve forced at least one turnover in every game and have multiple takeaways in more than half their games. And when opponents do hold onto the football they find it tough to score. The Eagles rank third in total defense and fourth allowing fewer than 17 points per game.
Houston Texans
Coming close doesn’t cut it in the NFL and as a result the Texans own the AFC’s worst record. Their season-opening tie with Indianapolis keeps them slightly ahead of Detroit for the worst record in the entire NFL. The bottom line is you’re not going to win if you can’t score and the Texans have a difficult time finding the end zone. Last week’s game with Tennessee wasn’t as close as the 17-10 final would indicate, and the Texans failed to take advantage of a team starting its backup quarterback. Instead the defense got run over allowing Derrick Henry to go for 219 yards and the Titans to amass 314 yards on the ground. It’s an issue when you know what’s coming and you still can’t stop it.
Part of the problem on offense is the inability to stay on the field. The Texans were 2 of 14 on third down last week and have converted just 32 percent of their third down tries on the year, better than only Carolina and Denver. And when they do have the ball the Texans haven’t done much with it. They average only 288.7 yards and 16.6 points, both near the bottom of the league rankings.
Eagles vs Texans Prediction
On paper this looks like a rout, but as we’ve seen a number of times this season anything can happen. The Eagles have the best balance of any team with each phase able to cover if another stumbles. That just hasn’t happened. It’s always tempting to back a double digit home dog, but the difference in the clubs is glaring, which is why I’m laying the points.
Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles -13.5 and OVER 44
