Week 9 of Thursday Night Football Prime Picks and Props focuses on the 7-0, undefeated Philadelphia Eagles and the 1-5-1 Houston Texans. Hopefully, this installment does better than last week, and curbs a disturbing trend of poor results. It’ll be difficult considering this game features a two-touchdown spread, but let’s give it a shot.
Philadelphia is an overwhelming favorite in this game. They are currently listed as 14-point favorites over Houston on DraftKings. For the daring bettors, the Texans are +600 underdogs on the moneyline while the Eagles are -850. The game total sits at 45 points.
The undefeated Eagles hold the NFL’s record and hold a one-game lead over the Minnesota Vikings for the top seed in the NFC. Meanwhile, the Texans have the league’s second-worst record. Their only victory this season was against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5. There’s not a lot of debate about who will win this game. The question is whether or not the Eagles can cover another large spread.
Notable Stats/Betting Trends
- The UNDER has hit in five out of eight Thursday games this year
- Eagles are 5-2 ATS / Texans are 3-3-1 ATS
- The OVER has hit in four out of seven of the Eagles’ games/ The UNDER has hit in four out of seven of the Texans’ games
- Eagles average 28.0 points per game (3rd best in NFL) / Texans average 16.6 points per game (4th Worst)
- Eagles allow 16.9 points per game (4th Best) / Texans allow 22.0 points per game (17th)
Prime Picks and Props
The Prime Pick: EAGLES -4 Second Quarter Spread (-110 DK)
The Eagles are 7-0 SU in the first half of games. It is primarily due to their dominance in the second quarter. They average an incredible 18.0 points in the second quarter of games this season. They have won every second quarter by at least four points this season. On the flip side, the Texans have only scored 6.6 points per game in this quarter.
The Texans have not shown any ability to keep up with the offensive firepower the Eagles have. Meanwhile, they don’t have the defensive talent to contain Philly’s offense either. As a result, there shouldn’t be much resistance for the Eagles to reach their second quarter scoring average. Yes, the lack of scoring in Thursday Night Football games is a concern. However, a lot of Thursday night games have featured inconsistent teams. That’s not the Eagles.
Halftime Prop: EAGLES OVER 13.5 First Half Points (-135 DK)
Sticking with the halftime theme here. Again, the Eagles score more than this number in the second quarter alone. Also, Philadelphia has not finished a first half with less than 14 points this season yet. This would be a good alternative to the Prime Pick if one’s concerned about the Eagles not covering the first half spread for whatever reason. Otherwise, this is bet is doubling down on the Eagles’ first half dominance.
FAVORITE PLAYER PROP: Dameon Pierce UNDER 11.5 Yards Longest Reception
Rooking running back Dameon Pierce will be the focal point of the Texans’ offense. However, this number is a little too high. He only has one reception longer than 11.5 yards on the season, and it went 12 yards. The Eagles have allowed a running back to surpass this mark once in three of the past four games. However, Jaylen Warren, Eno Benjamin & JaMycal Hasty are known weapons out of the backfield. Pierce isn’t that just yet.
FAVORITE HEAD-TO-HEAD PROP: Davis Mills -0.5 Interceptions Thrown Spread
Essentially, the thought is Davis Mills will throw one more interception than Jalen Hurts. Mills has thrown six interceptions this season with all of them coming in his last five games. Meanwhile, Hurts has only thrown two interceptions in 2022, and he has not thrown one in his last three games. The game script sets up for the Eagles to lead big, which will force the Texans to take risks. This plays right into the Eagles’ defensive strength. They are tied for second in the league with 10 interceptions.