When the Eagles travel to Houston to take on the Texans to open Week 9 of the 2022 NFL season on “Thursday Night Football” (8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video), they will be looking be inspired by the Phillies.
While Philadelphia’s baseball team takes on the Astros at home in the World Series, its pro football team will try to improve to 8-0 on the road as heavy favorites against a 1-5-1 underdog.
Houston has struggled in the NFL this season with only one win and a tie to show for its efforts. The Eagles look unstoppable through a favorable schedule.
Here’s everything to know about betting on Eagles vs. Texans in Week 9, including updated odds, trends and our prediction for “Thursday Night Football.”
NFL WEEK 9 PICKS: Against the spread | Straight-up predictions
Eagles vs. Texans odds for Thursday Night Football
- Spread: Eagles by 14
- Over/under: 45
- Moneyline: Eagles -750, Texans +525
The Eagles have been near two-touchdown favorites since the initial lines and that’s ballooned into a massive number. The point total suggests not much scoring by the Texans.
Eagles vs. Texans all-time series
The Eagles are 5-0 all-time against Houston. The Texans faced them as an expansion team in 2002 and also fell in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018. The Texans are hoping they can break from the four-year cycle of a guaranteed loss.
Three trends to know
—58 percent of spread bettors are siding with the Eagles despite the big number
—64 percent of total bettors are feeling the game going over mostly because of the Eagles.
—The Eagles are 5-2 against the spread this season and 4 of their games have gone over. The Texans 3-3 against the spread this season and 3 of their games have gone over.
Three things to watch
Jalen Hurts’ homecoming
Hurts, the Eagles’ quarterback, is a Houston native, adding more drama to the whole big battle between the two cities on Thursday night. He should pumped to keep up his monster breakout season and continue to build his NFL MVP case in prime time.
Davis Mills’ sliding passing game
Brandin Cooks (wrist) hasn’t been happy about the coaching of late. Nico Collins (groin) will miss another game. The Texans are using wideouts and tight ends by committee to try to help Mills, but the second-year QB has hit a wall. That’s bad news against a nasty Eagles pass defense.
A.J. Brown vs. Derek Stingley Jr.
Brown is crushing it as the Eagles’ new No. 1 wide receiver. Stingley has shown some shutdown ability in Lovie Smith’s cover-2 defense. The Steelers failed to stop Brown with double teams last week. The Texans’ goal will be just trying to avoid letting him get open for big plays.
Stat that matters
186.0. That’s how many average rushing yards per game the Texans are giving up, a number that went up with Derrick Henry breaking 200 yards last week. The Eagles can take over games on the ground, led by Miles Sanders with some of Hurts when needed. The Eagles’ offensive line should dominate the game.
Eagles vs. Texans prediction
The Eagles’ offensive machine will not be slowed down, either run or pass. The Texans can run a little with rookie feature back Dameon Pierce to keep them in the game for a while, but things will break down big-time with Mills in the second half.
Eagles 38, Texans 10
