Houston Texans NFL Betting
I seriously have no clue how or why the end-season shenanigans played out the way they did for the Houston Texans. The team knew it needed to lose the final game of the regular season to secure the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, right? Even so, Lovie Smith still decided to go full bore to secure the 32-31 comeback win against the Indianapolis Colts the final week of the regular season. Is it possible he already knew he’d be served walking papers come the conclusion of the NFL betting season and took it upon himself to stick it to the franchise and hook up his former employer in the process? We’ll likely never know but the reality of the matter is that Houston will have a top-3 pick in the draft for two straight seasons. It went defense last year and hit it big with LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr. who immediately paid dividends by turning the Texans secondary into the strength of the defense.
Houston Texans 2022 Season Recap
The Texans entered the regular season with a 4.5-game season wins total at the online sportsbook. I immediately selected the under and pressed submit knowing full-well the team would have major issues competing within the division with the Colts expected to reign supreme and the Titans and Jaguars fighting for second place; when going by the division’s futures odds at the outset of the season. As it turned out, the Colts ended up being a dumpster fire and it was the Titz and Jags that duked it out for division supremacy. Regardless, Houston ended up going 1-0-1 SU and 2-0 ATS versus Indy and 2-2 SU and 2-2 versus the NFL odds against Tennessee and Jacksonville. The overall output turned out to be much better than I expected, but in the end the triumphs amounted to the teams only registered for the year.
Because of it, the Texans came up two games short of surpassing their season wins total making the under 2-0-1 over the last three seasons. The end result has been fourth, third, and third place finishes within the division. Even so, this team looks to be on the up-and-up with it playing in line to oddsmaker’s expectations by going 8-8-1 against the spread. On top of that, it played to the under in 10 of 17 games which means the defense is currently ahead of the offense. While it might not be much when taking the rankings of both sides of the ball into account, the pass defense ended up ranked No. 10 in allowing fewer than 210 yards per game.
Much of that output likely had to do with opposing offenses being able to run on the defense as they pleased in allowing 170+ yards per game (No. 32), but Houston did come up with the fourth most interceptions in the league (16). The stop unit also ranked No. 3 in pressure rate (38%), but it only resulted in 39 total sacks of opposing quarterbacks. While the defense proved to be the strength of the team, the offense looks to have some viable pieces to the puzzle already in tow. Rookie running back Dameon Pierce at one point was the odds-on favorite to take home the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, while wide receiver Nico Collins impressed in his limited exposure bettering last season’s outputs in four fewer games.
2023 Offseason
Davis Mills was selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft with the Texans 67th overall pick. Through two seasons, the Stanford product has shown little if any evidence of being a viable QB1 at the NFL level. While he surpassed the 3,000+ passing yards plateau in 15 made starts this season, the kid just continues to throw interceptions at a sickening pace. After tossing 10 last season to just 16 touchdown passes, Mills went on to accrue a 17:15 TD/INT ratio in 2022-23. He’s not the answer and has done nothing for the Houston faithful to forget about Deshaun Watson in his prime. As such, it would come as a major surprise to not see this franchise look to a quarterback with the No. 2 pick. Early draft mocks have them settling for Kentucky’s Will Levis though it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they took a shot with C.J. Stroud instead. Bryce Young would also be a no-brainer should he not be selected with the top pick.
Houston Texans Schedule & Results
As a team that has been among the worst in the NFL, the Texans will not get much in the way of feature TV games. In fact, their only prime time game is in week nine at home against the Philadelphia Eagles on Prime Video. That game is scheduled for Thursday, November 3.
Houston has a potentially interesting game in week 13 when they host the Cleveland Browns. If Deshaun Watson is eligible, it is quite conceivable that he would be the Browns starting quarterback, returning home to Houston, where his career fell apart after such a promising start.
As far as fan pride goes, the Texans' week 14 game at the Dallas Cowboys rates higher than any other matchup in 2022. Before their infamous flameout at Kansas City, The Texans were a more successful franchise than the Cowboys. Yet it didn’t matter, as Dallas has always been the dominant brand in the state of Texas.
Houston Texans Past Seasons (2002)
| YEAR |
RECORD |
PLAYOFFS |
| 2022 |
3-13-1 |
None |
| 2021 |
4-13 |
None |
| 2020 |
4-12 |
None |
| 2019 |
10-6 |
Lost Divisional Round |
| 2018 |
11-5 |
Lost Wild Card |
| 2017 |
4-12 |
None |
| 2016 |
9-7 |
Lost Divisional Round |
| 2015 |
9-7 |
Lost Wild Card |
| 2014 |
9-7 |
None |
| 2013 |
2-14 |
None |
| 2012 |
12-4 |
Lost Divisional Round |
| 2011 |
10-6 |
Lost Divisional Round |
| 2010 |
6-10 |
None |
| 2009 |
9-7 |
None |
| 2008 |
8-8 |
None |
| 2007 |
8-8 |
None |
| 2006 |
6-10 |
None |
| 2005 |
2-14 |
None |
| 2004 |
7-9 |
None |
| 2003 |
5-11 |
None |
| 2002 |
4-12 |
None |
Houston is not a franchise that has lacked regular season success. The Texans made the playoffs six times from 2011 through 2019. However, their postseason record has been hapless, with no advancement past the divisional round. The Texans were founded as a 2002 expansion team following the move of the Houston Oilers to Tennessee.
Following their stunning 2019 AFC Divisional Playoff loss at the Kansas City Chiefs, the Texans have never been the same. Houston jumped out to a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter, and many fans and gamblers believed that the game was over. Instead, Kansas City exploded to score 41 unanswered points en route to a 51-31 win. The humiliation for the Texans has never been lived down. And it caused then-head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien to lose his mind.
In the offseason leading up to the 2020 campaign, O’Brien came off as unhinged with bizarre roster moves that seemed to have been an overreaction to the loss at Kansas City. The team tuned out O’Brien, and he was fired early in the 2020 campaign after an 0-4 start. Since that debacle in Kansas City, the Texans have never returned to the postseason.
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