Texans Dolphins Line

Written by Steve Janus

The Miami Dolphins are set to host the Houston Texans this Sunday in what should be a thrilling week 2 matchup. The Dolphins got worked by the New England Patriots 38-24 on Monday Night Football, but few teams could have done much to slow down the Pats on that night. The Texans offense rolled all over the Indianapolis Colts for a 34-7 win. Houston has won all five meetings in the series, with the most recent a 27-20 win at Miami in 2009.

Looking at the week 2 NFL odds, the oddsmakers currently have the Texans favored by 3-points over the Dolphins with the total set at 47.5 points.

Houston Texans:

The Texans offense didn’t miss a beat without Pro Bowl running back Arian Foster. Ben Tate and Derrick Ward combined for 155 yards and two touchdowns, with Tate leading the way with 116 yards on 24 attempts. Foster is listed as questionable for the Dolphins game, but has every intention of playing.

While Houston had no trouble running the ball on the Colts defense, quarterback Matt Schaub had a very mediocre day throwing the football. Schaub went 17 of 24 for 22o yards, but had two interceptions to just one touchdown.

Star wide out Andre Johnson finished with seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown, while Jacoby Jones and James Casey each added three catches.

The Texans defense didn’t look anything like the unit that cost them a playoff spot in 2010. They held the Colts to just 236 total yards and forced two fumbles. Just how much of that has to do with the new system installed by Wade Phillips and how much has to do with Peyton Manning not suiting up will be determined this week against Miami.

Miami Dolphins:

The Dolphins were no match for the Patriots offensive attack. New England’s no huddle really seemed to catch Miami off guard. The Patriots piled on 622 yards against, including 517 passing yards from quarterback Tom Brady. The Dolphins actually have a lot of very good players on the defensive side of the ball, and I won’t be surprised at all if they play much better this week against the Texans.

Offensively the Dolphins actually played pretty well. Quarterback Chad Henne seems to have really stepped up his game from a year ago, and I think a lot of that has to do with Miami opening up the offense. Henne threw for 416 yards and two touchdowns on 30 of 49 passing. He did have one interception, but overall played a very good game.

The concern going forward was the lack of a running game the Dolphins featured. Henne shockingly led the team with 59 yards on seven carries. Reggie Bush carried it 11 times for 38 yards and also caught 9 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Daniel Thomas was out with a hamstring injury, but is expected to be in the mix this week against the Texans.

Wide out Brandon Marshall looks to really benefit from the offense becoming more pass-happy. He hauled in a team-high seven passes for 139 yards, but did not find the endzone. Davone Bess was second on the team with five catches for 92 yards and tight end Anthony Fasano was right behind him with five for 82 yards.

Betting Trends:

Houston is 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games after allowing less than 250 total yards in their previous game, but just 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games after scoring more than 30 points in their previous game.

Miami is 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games as an underdog, but only 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games when playing on Sunday following a Monday night game.

Be sure to stop back and see what Steve Janus has going in week 2 of the NFL.

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