The Houston Texans won their second game against the Jacksonville Jaguars to improve their record to 2-6 for the season as they travel to Ohio in Week 10 to face the Cleveland Browns. Their season is still not over with eight games in the books and the Texans still have a lot to play for.
Houston Texans: Week 10 Bets versus Cleveland Browns
Kyle Rose
Houston Texans vs. Cleveland Brown matchup
- The Houston Texans are +3 against the Cleveland Browns.
- Houston continues to struggle against the spread this season and are now 1-7. Cleveland is only slightly better against the spread at 3-5. However, they are 2-2 ATS at home vs the Texans, who are 0-4 on the road.
- The Texans don't have to worry about Odell Beckham Jr after he tore his ACL in Week 6 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Browns' quarterback Baker Mayfield could be out after being placed on COVID-19 reserve during the bye week after reportedly being in contact with a person on the staff that tested positive.
- If Mayfield tests negative, he could be cleared before Sunday's game and practice with the team as soon as Wednesday. However, if he is out, his backup is former Texans QB and University of Houston alumni, Case Keenum.
- Cleveland's record is solid at 5-3, but they have been a different team since losing Nick Chubb in Week 4 against the Dallas Cowboys. Although Chubb has an opportunity to returning back to the football field against the Texans
- Cleveland started the season 3-1 but have gone 2-2 since their game against Dallas, and put up less than 10 points in two of those games. Their average rushing yards per game decreased from 205 to 96, and Baker's accuracy also dropped from an average of 64.4% completion rate to 59.7%.
- It is worth noting that the recent accuracy average of 59.7% is skewed by a very efficient game against the Cincinnati Bengals where Baker completed 79% of his pass attempts; the other three games saw him complete 53% of his attempts.
- And it is fair to make the assessment that he could struggle even more with the loss of Odell. Houston has a realistic shot at beating Cleveland (or at least beating the spread).
- Recommendation: Houston to beat the spread
Houston Texans vs. Cleveland Browns O/U is currently at 54
The Houston Texans and the Cleveland Browns are 5-3 against the O/U lines. Deshaun Watson and the Houston offense has averaged 28.3 pts/game in the post-Bill O'Brien era this season. Meanwhile, Cleveland has averaged 25.8 pts/game this season, which would get you to 54.1 total.
However, Cleveland has only averaged 20.5 pts/game since losing Chubb. It seems safer to bet on continued underperformance from the Browns offense with no OBJ.
Recommendation: Under 54