Houston Texans at New York Jets

Written by Jack Jones

The difference between the Houston Texans sitting at 4-5 and the New York Jets at 7-2 is execution in close games. Houston cannot buy a break here of late, while the Jets can’t seem to lose when the game is on the line. These teams will meet up Sunday and NFL odds show us a line of Jets -7 over Texans with a total set of 46 points.

The Jets are coming off back-to-back overtime wins on the game’s final play, and as a result they are sitting tied with the Patriots atop the AFC East with the NFL’s best record. It was the first time in NFL history that a team won back-to-back overtime games on the road. New York got by Cleveland 26-20 last week thanks to a 37-yard touchdown pass from Mark Sanchez to Santonio Holmes with just 16 seconds left. Holmes had a 52-yard reception in overtime the week before which set up Nick Folk’s game-winning field goal in a 23-20 win at Detroit.

You can look at these two wins a couple of different ways. Either the Lions and Browns are better than their combined 5 wins would indicate, or the Jets aren’t as good as their 7-2 record implies. Either way, Rex Ryan and company will take the wins any way they can get them, and the fact that the Jets are 5-0 on the road this season is impressive in itself. But they must find a way to carry that road success to the Meadowlands, where both of their losses have come this season.

After a 3-1 start, Houston has gone on to lose three straight and four of their last five. The Texans were beaten 31-24 by Jacksonville last week on a 50-yard hail mary from David Garrard to Mike Thomas as time expired. They had come back from a 17-3 halftime deficit to tie the game at 24-24, so it was a heartbreaking loss to say the least. The Texans lost the week before 23-29 to the Chargers after blowing a nine-point lead and giving up two touchdowns over the final 5:48 of regulation.

The Texans problems can mostly be attributed to a defense that ranks last in the league, giving up 409.7 yards per game. Offensively, they have the NFL’s leading rusher in Arian Foster, but his chances of a big game are unlikely this week. The Jets rank fifth in the league against the run, allowing 89.6 rushing yards per game. Houston will have to rely on an offense that ranks sixth in the league at 372.9 total yards per game to try and outscore New York, because their defense has yet to step up to the plate.

Matt Schaub was hospitalized on Wednesday due to a bursa sac injury, but is expected to play Sunday. Schuab has thrown for 2,320 yards and 12 touchdowns to 7 interceptions while completing 64.2 percent of his passes this season. His favorite target remains Andre Johnson, who continues getting it done despite drawing so much attention from opposing defenses. Johnson has 52 catches for 781 yards and 4 touchdowns this season. The Jets beat the Texans 24-7 in their season-opener last year, outgaining Houston 462-183.

BetUS Projected Score: Jets 27 – Texans 20

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