The Houston Texans head into their Week 7 contest against the New York Giants riding the high of logging two straight wins over their last two matchups, and now hope to extend that streak to three in their last game before the bye.
And the pieces could certainly be in place for the Texans to make that third consecutive win become a reality.
Their offense is looking the best it has all season after another strong performance from C.J. Stroud. The defense will have the task of facing a new starting quarterback on the other side in J.J. McCarthy, and all of that coming back on Houston's home field tends to make their chances look even better.
And when looking at the Texans' betting odds heading into Week 7, it's becoming pretty clear that the sportsbooks have one obvious favorite in mind for this weekend's action in Houston.
Texans Already Projected to Rout the Giants in Week 7
According to recent odds from FanDuel Sportsbook, the Texans are now listed as 10.5-point favorites (-550 ML) over the Giants in Week 7.
That's by far the Texans' highest spread heading into any week they've played this season. And when looking around the league's Week 7 matchups, Houston is currently the only team listed as a favorite by more than a touchdown––let alone being a favorite by double digits.
The projected point-total for these two teams doesn't look favorable for the Giants either. Houston and New York have an over-under sitting at 43.5, which comes in tied for bottom-five among the NFL in terms of projected totals for Week 7.
So if the Texans are projected to win by double-digits, and the total score isn't expected to reach above 43 points, that's not much of an optimistic statement from the books on how this Giants offense could fare against a Houston defensive unit that many considered among the best in the NFL heading into this season.
Will the Texans Actually Dominate the Giants as Expected?
Now, projections are one thing. Clearly, the consensus is starting to lean in one clear direction for this one between the Texans and the Giants.
But does Houston actually have what it takes to make that double-digit victory come to fruition?
Really, it all relies upon the defense.
Last game against the Jacksonville Jaguars showed that the Texans' offense is starting to get into a bit of a rhythm. A ton of receivers are getting involved and making plays, the run game showed signs of life against one of the best rushing defenses in the NFL, and the offensive line even held up to zero sacks.
But the Texans' defense just hasn't been as consistently elite as this team proved to be last year. That's not saying they can't find their way back to that level–– because the personnel looks virtually identical to last year outside of a select few changes. But we still need to see Houston have multiple strong weeks defensively to really have this level of confidence in their chances on Sunday.
After all, the Giants have won three games as is this season. That's more than the Texans can claim for themselves, and New York sits atop the NFC East because of it.
So as 10.5-point underdogs, they seem just a slight bit underrated here, simply when considering Houston's inconsistencies on defense. Maybe the Texans wind up crushing those projections anyways, but perhaps the Giants can make this game just a little bit more interesting than the odds tend to show.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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