Week 1 of the NFL preseason continues Friday night with a matchup between the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Texans already have a preseason game under their belt with the Hall of Fame Game last week while the Steelers could have a quarterback battle on their hands in their preseason opener.
Let’s get into my Texans vs. Steelers predictions and NFL picks for this preseason game on August 9.
Texans vs Steelers prediction
My best betOver 19.5 1H (-105 at DraftKings)
My analysis
Since the Houston Texans already have a game under their belt, they plan on playing all their healthy starters for the beginning of this game. That means we will see reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud suit up on Friday night. However, he likely will not have new running back Joe Mixon and will also be missing both starting tackles.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he plans to rest most of his veteran players, including Russell Wilson, Cam Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick, T.J. Watt, and Patrick Queen. That means that Justin Fields will get the start. Fields has been splitting reps with Wilson in training camp and impressing in the process.
I imagine we will see quite a bit of Fields in this game before moving to Kyle Allen. However, we will likely not see much of Stroud with maybe just a drive or two depending on how successful those drives are. But as we saw last week, Davis Mills can light it up as well with the reserves, and I could see some quick scoring from the Texans early.
Mills was 10 of 13 passing for 102 yards and a touchdown last week and led two scoring drives that totaled 74 yards each. He may get even more work in this game than just two drives and will likely close out the first half after Stroud exits. While Fields will not have the full first-team offense with him, he will still likely have most of the first team receivers early on and will also have rookie wideout Roman Wilson.
Most of the players sitting out on the Steelers are key defenders and that only helps the likes of Stroud and Mills to put up some points here in the first half. The Texans will also likely be without some key defensive starters due to minor injuries. The first half Over is my favorite play in this contest.
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Texans vs Steelers odds
Texans vs Steelers live odds
Texans vs Steelers opening odds
- Spread: Houston +2.5 | Pittsburgh -2.5
- Moneyline: Houston +122 | Pittsburgh -143
- Over/Under: Over 36.5 | Under 36.5
Texans vs Steelers betting trend to know
The first half has had 20 or more points in two of the last three Texans preseason games and in each of the last three Steelers preseason games. Find more NFL betting trends for Texans vs Steelers.
Texans vs Steelers game info
| Location: | Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA |
| Date: | Friday, August 9, 2024 |
| Kickoff: | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | NFL Network |
Texans vs Steelers weather
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Jeremy Jones
Betting Analyst
Jeremy Jones was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky and has been a massive Wildcats fans since the moment he came into the world. He wrote his first sports article at the tender age of 11 after attending a local AHL hockey game, and a few years later was writing professionally for sites such as Sports Rants, BetAmerica, and TwinSpires.
Jeremy holds a Masters in Sports Administration from Eastern Kentucky University and utilizes all seven betting options available in Kentucky to shop for odds and promos and find the greatest EV in every wager he places.
His best piece of sports betting advice is to stick to consistent unit sizes for every wager. He acknowledges there will occasionally be a bet that has a huge EV and you can play multiple units in one bet, but cautions against raising your unit size, because you can quickly lose all your winnings if you hit a minor cold streak.
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