The quarterback carousel is working again in Houston. Ryan Mallett will reportedly get the start over Brian Hoyer, who struggled in a loss to the Chiefs last week. The Texans also could get a boost to their running game with Arian Foster nearing a return, which is good news for a team looking to avoid its first 0-2 start in seven years.
ODDS
Carolina opened as a 3.5-point favorite with a total of 41. The spread was wagered down a half point to its current -3. Two stingy defensive teams give the under plenty of value, but points come in a variety of ways.
KEY INJURIES
Ryan Griffin – Sprained his MCL last week and was placed on the injured reserve/designated to return list, which puts him out for at least eight weeks. Garrett Graham and C.J. Fiedorowicz are the other tight ends on the Texans roster.
Daryl Williams – Suffered a sprained knee ligament last week and is expected to be out for two to four weeks. He was the backup to right tackle Mike Remmers, but was to get work with the first team so Remmers could move to center.
Luke Kuechly – Went into the concussion protocol after suffering a head injury late in the first half Sunday at Jacksonville. He’s listed as questionable and his absence would leave a void in the middle of the Panthers defense. A.J. Klein replaced him on Sunday and had five tackles.
KEY MISMATCH
While the Texans have what could be considered the best defensive front in football, the Panthers’ offense is still searching for its identity. For Carolina to be a serious contender for a third straight NFC South title they better find it like the defense has. The Panthers escaped Jacksonville with a win and coach Ron Rivera wasn’t satisfied with the number of mistakes. Most of them were on offense. There were dropped passes, an offensive pass interference call that negated a touchdown and only 263 total yards. Eight times the Panthers reached Jags territory, but came away with just 13 points. The Texans feature two of the game’s best defensive ends in J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney, who’ll look to converge on Newton from both sides. Clowney played about 30 snaps in the opener, but Texans coach Bill O’Brien said his role will be expanded.
KEY STAT
5 – Carolina’s sack total in its season opener. The Panthers terrorized Jags quarterback Blake Bortles and hurried him into a pair of picks also, one of which was returned for a touchdown. The Texans allowed five sacks by the Chiefs, effectively forcing Hoyer out of his starting quarterback job.
BETTING ANGLE
Here we go again. After playing musical quarterbacks throughout the entire preseason, O’Brien is at it again. The Texans coach waited until the final preseason game before naming Hoyer his starter. Hoyer had two turnovers early, took four sacks and was benched in the fourth quarter of Houston’s season-opening loss to Kansas City. Mallett took over and led the Texans on two scoring drives in the last six minutes, completing 8 of 13 passes for 98 yards in the 27-20 loss. Though O’Brien hasn’t officially named a starter, reports have surfaced indicating Mallett will get the nod. Now if Mallett has a turnover or costly mistake is he looking at the sideline waiting to get yanked? As the saying goes, if you have two quarterbacks you have none.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Quarterback controversies are never good, but credit Hoyer and Mallett for handling the situation well – at least for now. The situation created by O’Brien is shaky, though. Can he go back to Hoyer now if Mallett doesn’t perform well? Mallett guided the offense on a pair of late scoring drives against KC and seemingly had a rapport with DeAndre Hopkins. More importantly, Mallett can’t turn the ball over. Houston’s giveaways set up the Chiefs with great field position and easy scores leading to their demise. Few teams will be able to matriculate the ball down field on long scoring drives against the Texans and the Panthers lack an aerial attack to allow them to do that. Houston gets the upset win by stifling Newton and the Panthers’ offense.
Houston 23, Carolina 20
BookMaker sent out the NFL betting odds for this Sunday game at Panthers -3.5 with a total of 41. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time odds and player props during the game. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device or tablet at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers game is scheduled for Sunday, September 20, 2015, at 1 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium. The matchup will be televised live on CBS.
