Broncos coach Gary Kubiak returns to Houston, where he spent eight seasons guiding the Texans before being fired during the 2013 season.
Denver will have Peyton Manning taking his first preseason snaps as Kubiak looks for some revenge against his former club.
ODDS
Playing their second straight home game, the Texans opened as 3-point favorites against their former coach Gary Kubiak, who improved to 20-11-2 ATS in the preseason with last week’s win. The total came in at 41.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
Denver’s Peyton Manning will make his preseason debut Saturday and, according to Kubiak, will play quite a bit. Just how much we don’t know, but Manning is ready to go after sitting out last week’s preseason opener and taking several days off during practice to keep his aging body fresh. That allowed backup Brock Osweiler to get some needed time with the first unit. Osweiler was good against the Seahwaks throwing for 151 yards on 15 of 20 passing with a touchdown in the first half of last week’s game. Zac Dysart and Trevor Siemian split reps over the second half and will battle for fourth quarter snaps against the Texans.
Houston still has a quarterback battle going on between Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett and Texans coach Bill O’Brien has no time table for announcing who’ll be his starter when the regular season opens. Mallett gets the start this week after Hoyer started the team’s preseason opener, a 23-10 win over the 49ers. Hoyer, Mallet and Brian Savage all played well in that victory, leaving a lingering question: Who’s No. 1? “I don’t know when that announcement will be made,” O’Brien said this week. Hoyer played only one series against the 49ers, capped by a 58-yard touchdown pass, which likely indicates he’ll get more playing time against the Broncos. Mallett played the rest of the first half, completing 10 of 11 passes for 90 yards.
COACHES' MOTIVATION
It’s just a preseason game, but being it’s the only time these clubs face each other this year, Kubiak has only one shot against his former club. Kubiak was fired by the Texans with three games remaining in the 2013 season after going 2-11. After directing the Texans to the only two playoff appearances in franchise history in 2011 and 2012, Kubiak was cut loose without the opportunity to finish his eighth season with the team. He left the organization as the leader in coaching victories going 61-64 during his tenure. Denver covered the spread and cashed the over last week in Kubiak’s first game, giving him an impressive 20-11-2 preseason ATS record and 22-9-2 mark on the over.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“He’s going to play. ...I’ll say he’s going to play quite a bit. I’d like our ones to play quite a bit. Is that a quarter-and-a-half? Is that a half? Is that a quarter? I don’t know. I’ll see how the game goes, but I want them to get a bunch of snaps under their belt.” – Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak on Peyton Manning, who will make his preseason debut Saturday.
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH
The Texans are one of a few teams that have an open competition for the starting quarterback job. Hoyer and Mallett are not making the decision easy for coach O’Brien. Mallett gets a shot with the first-teamers this week after Hoyer started the preseason opener and both played exceptionally well. Hoyer played just one series last week and is expected to see more time after Mallett. “Everything that we do here, every decision we make, is in the best interest of the team,” O’Brien said. “When we decide on who that guy is, we’ll make sure we tell everybody and move on.”
INJURIES
The Broncos are being cautious with receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who didn’t play last week and has been limited in practice because of a sore hamstring. It remains to be seen if he suits up against the Texans. Also, backup defensive end Kenny Anunike left practice this week to have his knee scoped after he experienced swelling in the joint.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
There has to be a little added motivation for Broncos coach Kubiak, after being let go by the Texans following the two most successful seasons in the franchise’s history. Kubiak will say it’s no big deal, just another game, yada, yada, yada. But we know there is some anger. He didn’t even get to finish his final year; the Texans fired him with three games left in 2013 season. The Broncos do need to work on their kick coverage after being scorched by the Seahawks last week. But Manning will take his first preseason snaps for Denver and Kubiak will go for the jugular.
Denver 24, Houston 16
The NFL odds for this Saturday contest were first released by BookMaker and the Texans were positioned as 3-point favorites with a total of 41. Now you can wager in-game while the action unfolds with BookMaker's live betting option.
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