Raiders vs. Texans Betting Preview 01/07/17 – AFC Wild Card Game Odds
Betting Preview
Both teams will have their quarterbacks in the spotlight for this game but for all the wrong reasons.
Rookie quarterback Conner Cook will be the first quarterback to have his first career start in the post season since the NFL started Super Bowl play. Derek Carr went down in Week 15 with a broken leg and then backup Matt McGloin was injured in the season finale which leaves Oakland with their third string quarterback starting his first game.
Carr led the Raiders to 12 wins with over 3900 passing yards and 28 touchdown passes before getting hurt. Cook was forced into action when McGloin was hurt in the final game of the year and will be facing the NFL’s best defense in his first start as a pro.
Brock Osweiler who was benched in favor of Tom Savage after starting 15 games for Houston will get another shot after Savage suffered a concussion in last week’s game. The Raiders made it to the playoffs thanks to the sixth best offense in the league while Houston’s number one defense got them into post season play. The Raiders were ranked 26th in the league in total defense and gives up 24.1 points a game while Houston’s offense is ranked 29th and score just 17.4 points a game. T
he oddsmakers have made the Texans a 3.5 point favorite and set the total at 36.5. According to Covers.com Consensus Analysis the public is split 50-50 on the teams while 53% have no confidence in either of the offenses and are backing the under.
Oakland won their first meeting earlier in the season by a score of 27-20
Previous Meetings
11/21/16: Texans 20 @ Raiders 27
09/14/14: Texans 30 @ Raiders 14
11/17/13: Raiders 28 @ Texans 23
Trends
- The over is 4-1 in their last five meetings
- The road team has covered the spread in four of their last five meetings
- The over is 7-3 in the Raiders last 10 games overall