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Oakland Raiders vs. Houston Texans NFL Betting Odds & Spread

Written December 18, 2008 by Jason Lowry

Texans Raiders Football

If you are a Houston Texans fan, you have to be liking the way this team is finishing up the regular season even though they won’t be playing in the playoffs. The Texans have won 4 straight and last week had their most impressive win of the season, beating the Titans 13-12 at home. This week the Texans take on the Oakland Raiders who lost for the third straight time last week, as they fell to the Patriots 49-26 at home. For those of you looking to do a little NFL betting on the game this weekend, the oddsmakers have the ">Texans 7 point favorites on the road over the Raiders at Sportsbook.com

The Texans come into the game this week at 7-7, but this team could easily be 9-5, as they have let a number of games slip out their grasp. Last week that was not the case, as the Texans used a big time performance from their star receiver Andre Johnson, who had 207 yards and the teams only touchdown on 11 catches. Now he had someone throwing him the ball, and Matt Schaub had another good game throwing for 284 yards and a score. The Texans also got a strong performance from running back Steve Slaton, who had 100 yards on 24 carries. Now this week they face a Raiders team that isn’t playing with a whole lot of anything right now, and you have to think this offense will keeping clicking even on the road.

The Texans defense was excellent against the Titans rushing attack last week, as they allowed the duo of Chris Johnson and LenDale White to run for just 91 yards on 21 carries, and thats usually the first step in beating this Titans team. They also were solid against the pass, as Kerry Collins completed just 15 of 33 attempts for 181 yards with an interception. The biggest stat is the Texans didn’t allow a touchdown in this one, as the TItans had to settle for 4 field goals. If the defense comes out and plays like this against the Raiders, its pretty much game over from the get go. ">Bet Houston Texans -7 at Sportsbook.com

Last week the Raiders finally got the offense working to where they actually put some points on the scoreboard, but when the opposing team puts nearly 50 up it really doesn’t matter. The Raiders score a touchdown in all 4 quarters of play, as JaMarcus Russell threw for 242 yards with touchdown strikes to both Johnnie Lee Higgins and Ronald Curry. Darren McFadden scored for the first time in 3 weeks on a 11 yard run late in the 4th, and Justin Miller returned yet another kickoff for a score, as he took one back 95 yards in the 2nd quarter. Now the Raiders did show some life on this side of the ball, but they were never in this game. Now if the defense doesn’t let the Texans go off, and the Raiders offense keeps clicking, this game could be a lot closer than people expect.

Now the Raiders defense was pretty much awful last week, as they let the Patriots just out to 21-0 lead before the 3 minute mark in the 1st quarter. The defense never showed signs of slowing the Pats down, as they racked up 6 touchdowns of their own, including a kick return by Ellis Hobbs just moments after Miller took his to the house. Now the Texans can not only throw the ball, but Slaton has got that team running the ball effectively as well, so unless the defense gets its act together this week, the Texans are going to score all over this team just like the Patriots did. ">Bet Oakland Raiders +7 at Sportsbook.com

Looking for some help on the games this weekend? Check out these great NFL expert picks, and grab the latest NFL spreads for every game at Betfirms.

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