TNF: New York Jets vs. Houston Texans Prediction and Game Thread

Thursday Night Football, Week 9. Tonight the New York Jets host the Houston Texans. According to our friends at Fanduel Sportsbook, the Jets are the home favorite in this game by 2.5 points.

The Houston Texans are 6-2 and earned a 23-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans have won four of their last five games, with their only loss during that time being a two-point loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Texans are a good, balanced team. They rank 2nd in the NFL in yards allowed and 9th in yards gained. These are the numbers that serious Super Bowl contenders like to post. If there is a weakness with this team, it lies in their pass defense. While excellent overall, the Texans were prone to letting receivers get behind the defense. The result was a defense that allowed 16 passing touchdowns, good for 28th in the NFL. If the Jets want to win this game, they will likely need to be successful with some deep balls. The Jets will also have to limit turnovers against a defense that has forced nine in the last three games.

The 2-6 New York Jets enter this game on a five-game losing streak. Only the New Orleans Saints are currently in a longer losing streak. The hapless Jets only have one thing to do this year. Despite all of the team's struggles, the Jets still fielded a pretty good pass defense. They currently rank 2nd in the NFL in passing yards allowed, 6th in sacks and 11th in pass rating allowed. Last year, the Jets dominated CJ Stroud and the Texans en route to a 30-6 victory. Stroud had the worst game of his professional career in this game. Similar to tonight's game, the Texans were missing most of their best receivers in this game. Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins are out tonight, leaving only Tank Dell as the proven receiver to carry the load. If the Jets are to have a chance at winning tonight, the blueprint was laid in last year's win over this team. Stop a hampered Texans passing attack and make them a one-dimensional team. Will it work? Probably not, but there is at least reason to hope.

Despite the betting line, on paper this game looks like a mismatch in favor of the Texans. The Texans' crazy passing attack may give the Jets an opportunity to pull out a win here, but based on everything we've seen from the Jets this season, I expect the Texans to pull off a “surprising” road win. If you're betting, we wish you the best of luck and please consider using our friends at Fanduel Sportsbook.