Steelers Texans Line

Written by Steve Janus

The Houston Texans will look try to prove they are one of the elite team in the AFC when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 4. The Texans opened up the season with impressive wins over Indianapolis and Miami, but were unable to close the door on the Saints in week 3. Houston blew two fourth quarter leads in a 33-40 loss. The Steelers didn’t exactly look impressive in their 23-20 win over the Colts on Sunday Night Football, but are now 2-1 after getting embarrassed by the Ravens 35-7 in week 1.

Taking a look at the week 4 NFL spreads, oddsmakers currently have the Texans favored by 3.5-points over the Steelers with the total set at 45 points.

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Injuries up front on the offensive line have really caused some early problems for the defending AFC Champions. They will be without starting left tackle Jonathan Scott, while right tackle Marcus Gilbert and right guard Doug Legursky are listed as questionable.

The struggles on the line have made it really hard for the Steelers offense to get going. Running back Rashard Mendenhall has just 148 rushing yards and one touchdown on 49 carries and Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked nine times in three games.

Roethlisberger has been able to continue to find ways to get the ball to third-year wide out Mike Wallace, who leads the team with 21 receptions for 377 yards and two touchdowns. Emanuel Sanders is the only other receiver to catch a touchdown as the Steelers have scored just five offensive touchdowns all season.

With an offense that hasn’t quite hit their stride, Pittsburgh will be counting on their defense to step up with a big time performance against a very good Houston offense. While the Steelers gave up 20 points to a Colts offense that is playing without Peyton Manning, they held Indianapolis to just 241 yards of total offense and seven of those points came on a fumble by the offense that was returned for a touchdown.

Houston Texans:

The Texans inability to finish games late is something that has really hurt this team over the last few seasons. They had a 33-32 lead over the Saints with just 4:13 left in the fourth quarter, but were unable to make the defensive stop to win the game.

The Texans could get a big boost to the offense this week, as Pro Bowl running back Arian Foster is expected to finally be back to full strength after nursing a hamstring injury in the first three games. The Texans haven’t exactly struggled to run the ball without Foster, as backup Ben Tate has rushed for 301 yards.

In past years it has been extremely difficult to run the ball on the Steelers defense, but they have already allowed Ray Rice to rush for 107 yards and just gave up 86 yards to Joseph Addai last week. If Foster and Tate can have some success, Houston should have a great shot at winning this game.

Even if the Texans running game isn’t working, they should be able to move the ball with one of the more dangerous passing attacks in the league. Matt Schaub is averaging 263 yards a game and has one of the elite wide outs in the game in Andre Johnson, who has 21 receptions for 316 yards and two scores.

What this game is going to come down to is how well the Texans defense does against a hurting Steelers offense. A lot of people were really praising the Texans defense going into the game against the Saints, but they allowed Drew Brees to throw for 370 yards, while giving up an additional 100 yards on the ground.

Betting Trends:

Pittsburgh is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a road underdog of 3.5-10.0.

Houston is 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a home favorite of 3.5-10.0.

If you are looking for some expert advice on who to take this week. Be sure to stop back and check out what Steve Janus has to offer in week 4 of the NFL.

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