Another great primetime game, on paper, is set for Sunday night as the New England Patriots travel to Texas to take on the Houston Texans in a battle of current AFC playoff teams. New England is looking to hold off the Baltimore Ravens for the top overall seed, while the Texans are looking to hold off two other AFC South teams.
The Patriots enter play at 10-1 and hold a two game lead, plus the head to head advantage, in the AFC East over the second place Buffalo Bills. New England currently have a one game lead over the Baltimore Ravens for the top seed in the AFC, but Baltimore does have the head to head advantage if the Pats slip up.
Houston currently sit atop the AFC South with a 7-4 record and have a one game lead over the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans. The Texans currently occupy the third seed in the AFC thanks to a win over the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this season.
Below is my best bet for the New England Patriots at the Houston Texans. All lines are from DraftKings Sportsbook
New England Patriots (-3.5) at Houston Texans: O/U 44.5 points (-110/-110)
New England extended their winning streak to two games with an ugly 13-9 home win over the Dallas Cowboys last week. Neither team seen entirely interested in winning this game as the Cowboys had every chance to steal this game from New England, but as usual the Pats came away victorious. New England is 4-0 at home this season with their best win being that win over Dallas last week. The New England Patriots are 7-4 against the spread and the under has hit in eight of their 11 games this season.
Houston is coming off a big 20-17 division win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 12 and now have a huge opportunity to work on playoff positioning this week against the Patriots. The Texans need a win this week as the two teams trailing them by one game, Indy and Tennessee, play each other this week and will tie Houston if the Texans lose. Houston is 5-1 at home this season with impressive wins over the Raiders and Colts and a surprising loss to the Panthers. The Houston Texans are 5-6 against the spread and the under has hit in seven of their 11 games this season.
Series History: New England has won eight straight meetings between these two and leads the all-time series 10-1.
NFL Prediction: I like Houston +3.5 Sunday night.
YTD NFL Results: 44-37
