Houston Texans at Arizona Cardinals Point Spread

Written October 11, 2009 by Kyle Hunter

One of the most intriguing matchups of the weekend is the Houston Texans taking on the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale. Arizona is just 1-2 after their amazing run to the Super Bowl last year, so they need this game in a big way. Houston has shown tons of offensive ability, but had problems defensively. If you are a true NFL fan one would have to think this would be your kind of game to watch.

The Arizona Cardinals have lost both of their games at home to start off the season, including a 31-10 beat down at the hands of the Colts in their last game. The Cardinals are going to have to establish somewhat of a balance in their offense to achieve success throughout the remainder of the season. Thus far this year the running back duo of Tim Hightower and rookie Beanie Wells has yet to get going. Wells has looked like the better of the backs most of the time, but he has also fumbled the ball too often, which has him in the dog house right now. The passing game is still a major weapon, as it always will be with Kurt Warner and the great wide receivers he has around him. The defense is an area of concern, especially their weakness against the pass so far this season. The Cardinals need to put pressure on the opposing quarterback to take pressure off their secondary. If you plan to do any NFL betting you should take advantage of a $500 match bonus with a new account at BetUS.

The Houston Texans come into this game at 2-2. The offense of the Texans has shown it can put up points in a hurry, but the defense has also shown it can’t stop the run. Matt Schaub has played very well and has spread the ball around nicely. Andre Johnson has proven himself as one of the very best wide receivers in the league, which takes pressure off other pass receivers such as Owen Daniels and Kevin Walter. Steve Slaton was a very nice surprise last year, but he has yet to get going fully this season. Over the year Slaton will likely bust some big plays and prove to be a nice asset to the team. The biggest concern has to be the defense and its inability to stop the run. They are giving up 165 yards per game on the ground and 23 points per game. In order to take the next step the Texans will have to shore up their run defense.

Looking at the NFL odds for this game, the Cardinals are set as 5.5 point favorites at home in this matchup. The total has been posted at 50 points in this battle of strong offenses. The over is 8-3 in the Texas last 11 road games and the over is 12-3 in the Cardinals last 15 home games.

The true weakness of the Texans is their inability to stop the run, but the Cardinals haven’t been able to run the football this year. Will the Cardinals be able to successfully move the ball on the ground or will they have to resort to the air constantly? I look for Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower to have at least moderate success running the ball and Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin to make some big plays down the field. The Cardinals should be very motivated to win this one, but they’ll have to put up quite a few points to get it done!

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