NFL
Ricky Rothstein
October 3, 2017

Chiefs at Texans Point Spread: NFL Week 5 Odds, Prediction

The two most impressive offensive rookies in the NFL through four weeks of the 2017 season will be on display in the Sunday night game this week as Kansas City visits Houston in a matchup of division leaders. The game opened with the Chiefs as slight favourites at Sports Interaction.

Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans

When: Sunday, 8:30 PM ET
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston
Point Spread: Chiefs -1.5

Point Spread and Betting Analysis

Houston (2-2 SU, 3-1 ATS) is tied for first in the mediocre AFC South with Tennessee and Jacksonville. A .500 record might be enough to win that division – the Texans won it the past two seasons at 9-7. They are +150 second-favorites currently behind Tennessee (+130). AFC West-leading Kansas City (4-0 SU, 4-0 ATS) is on a short week after beating visiting Washington 29-20 Monday night. The Chiefs are the only unbeaten team in the NFL straight up, and they and the Bills are the only ones without an ATS loss.

The Chiefs have covered five of their seven all-time trips to Houston, including playoffs, but lost at NRG Stadium 19-12 last September. Nick Novak, no longer with the Texans, had four field goals, and DeAndre Hopkins had 113 yards receiving and a touchdown. The Chiefs were held to 291 yards and turned it over three times.

Kansas City Chiefs

That Monday night game vs. Washington was one of the worst bad beats in NFL history if you bet the Redskins +7 and/or the under 48 (it also changed many fantasy outcomes). Kansas City’s Harrison Butker, in his first NFL game, kicked a 43-yard field goal with eight seconds left to make it 23-20 Chiefs. Game over, Redskins cover and the under hits. Right? Wrong.

After a touchback on the kickoff, the Redskins had time for one play and tried some laterals. That failed miserably as Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston picked up a fumble and scored from 13 yards out with no time on the clock. Suddenly, Kansas City covered and the over hit on the total. Amazing. Chiefs stellar rookie running back Kareem Hunt, the NFL’s leading rusher, had his fourth straight 100-yard game with 101 on 21 carries.

Houston Texans

The Texans traded their 2017 first-round pick and 2018 first-rounder to Cleveland to move from No. 25 to No. 12 in this year’s draft and take Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson. He didn’t start Week 1, a 29-7 home loss to Houston, but relieved Tom Savage in that game and won’t be coming out of the lineup anytime soon. The Texans put up a franchise-record 57 points in their Week 4 destruction of the Titans and Watson had 283 yards passing and four touchdowns along with a rushing score. He joined Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton (1961) as the only rookie QBs in league history with at least 250 passing yards, four touchdown passes and a rushing TD in a game.

The 43-point margin of victory was also the biggest in team history. Think the Browns regret not staying put and taking Watson? The Titans win also was the season debut of receiver Will Fuller off a broken collarbone. He had four catches for 35 yards and two touchdowns.