Houston Texans vs Tennessee Titans NFL Betting Tips, Predictions & Odds

One of the most important chapters in one of the NFL’s fiercest rivalries is on the cards when the Tennessee Titans visit the Houston Texans in Monday Night Football (Tuesday 12:15 p.m. AEST).

This rivalry has been hot since 2002, when NFL expansion saw the former Houston Oilers move to Tennessee to become the Titans and a new team, the Houston Texans, arrived in their place.

Titans, Texans Both Eye NFL Playoffs

 Houston are riding a 7-game winning streak which has them 1.54 favourites in head-to-head betting at online bookmaker bet365. Tennessee have only won 2 of 6 away games this season, and start a 2.64 underdog at Palmerbet.

The Titans won the reverse fixture on home soil in Tennessee 20-17, but that came in Week 2 and Houston have only lost once since. On that occasion, Ryan Succop kicked a 31-yard field goal with one minute left to give Mike Vrabel his first win as an NFL head coach. The Titans won despite getting only 13-20, 117 yards, and 1 touchdown from quarterback Blaine Gabbert while the Texans’ Deshaun Watson passed for 22-32, 310 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

Houston’s 7-3 win-loss record has them sitting 1.5 games clear of Indianapolis at the top of the AFC South and eyeing the chance to put some distance between themselves and their divisional rivals ahead of the playoffs. The Titans are 5-5 and third in the AFC South, but a win here would keep them in the picture for a division title or at the very least a wildcard spot.

Houston Have Form on Their Side

Houston have found a settled lineup during their 7 straight wins, with Watson, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and defensive lineman J.J. Watt all starring over the period, culminating in a 23-21 win on the road to the Washington Redskins last week. Pointsbet has set the line for Watson’s passing yards at 246.5 yards, and will pay out 1.88 if he passes over that mark.  It’s offering 5.50 on Hopkins, who has received for 8 touchdowns this season, scoring 2 TDs against the Titans.

Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, but 5 total touchdowns for @deshaunwatson.#FBF | #TENvsHOU pic.twitter.com/R2GGDWxsgL

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) 23 November 2018

Tennessee has alternated between the oft-injured Gabbert and Marcus Mariota in the quarterback role, and Mariota will lead them out against the Texans alongside defensive tackle Jurrell Casey. Six out of the Titans’ first seven games this NFL season were decided by a touchdown or less, but that has changed in the past three weeks when, win or lose, they’ve been involved in high-scoring games with an average margin of 22. They lost 38-10 at divisional rivals Indianapolis last week after scoring an upset 34-10 victory at home the previous week to New England and a 28-14 win at Dallas in Monday Night Football the week before that. Neds is quoting 2.40 on a combined total of 45 points or more or, for the more conservative punters out there, 1.60 on a combined total of 39 points or more.