Texans vs. Chargers NFL Betting Odds, Picks: Time to bet L.A. moneyline?
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Kevin Tompkins
In Week 9, we’ve got an AFC clash between two of the league’s most disappointing teams. Both teams are looking to get out of their respective holes in Week 9 as the 2-5 Houston Texans, coming off their bye, head to SoFi Stadium to take on the winless 0-7 Los Angeles Chargers.
The Texans opened the season with four straight losses to the Bills, Bengals, Colts and Cowboys before picking up back-to-back road wins over divisional foes in the Titans and Jaguars.
Any momentum gained from defeating back-to-back AFC South teams disappeared in their last outing, when Houston was stunned 27-21 in overtime at home by the J.J. McCarthy-backed New York Giants.
Meanwhile, the Chargers are the NFL’s last winless team, and that’s a statement nobody thought we’d get about the Chargers at the beginning of the season.
The Bolts lost their first two games at home to the Cardinals and Raiders, dropped road games to the Bills and Seahawks, lost at home to Denver, were dominated in Kansas City, and then came out of their bye with a 24-9 loss to the Rams last week.
Check out our full list of NFL score predictions for this week’s games.
Texans vs. Chargers Kickoff, Weather, TV, Streaming Info
Kickoff is Sunday at 4:05 PM ET at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The game will air on CBS, with streaming available on Paramount+ and NFL+. Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta are on the call for this game.
Weather won’t be a factor for Week 9’s game, as SoFi Stadium’s canopy keeps conditions consistent.
NFL Betting Odds, Point Spread, Trends
The visiting Texans are 4.5-point road favourites on the NFL odds board with a -225 money line. The home Chargers are placed at +185 on the money line, and the total sits at 40.5.
This season, Houston has been a frustrating team to back, going 2-5 against the spread. The Texans are scoring 23.6 points per game, but a defence that was among the league’s best in 2025 has given up an unsightly 24.3 points per game, and they allowed the Giants to run for a season-high 188 yards in Week 7. C.J. Stroud also managed just 153 passing yards in that loss, which isn’t encouraging for a team that is laying points on the road.
As for the Chargers, the problems start with Justin Herbert, who has thrown a league-high 10 interceptions. Los Angeles also ranks dead last in the NFL at 14.1 points per game, and it’s not looking good for new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel after seven games on the job.
The Chargers have yet to cover a spread this season, and the under has cashed in the vast majority of their games.
With the Chargers struggling to score and the Texans coming in rested off a bye, the under may be very much in play for this game, as could laying the points with a Houston team that has played much better on the road.
NFL Player Odds and Props
Houston Texans
Woody Marks UNDER 60.5 rushing yards
With David Montgomery ruled out for a third game with a groin injury, Marks will lead the Texans’ backfield once again, but the volume hasn’t translated into production. He has played at least 77% of the offensive snaps and handled at least 18 touches in each of his last three games, yet Marks is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry on the season with 271 yards on 77 attempts, and only 3.6 yards per carry over his last two games. Marks has shown in his season and a half, that his efficiency is incredibly lacking and even getting over 60 yards is a chore. We’ll back the under here.
Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert OVER 0.5 interceptions
Herbert entered Week 8 leading the NFL in interceptions and threw two more against the Rams, both on passes that were telegraphed into waiting defenders. He has been under constant pressure behind an offensive line that lost Rashawn Slater to an ankle injury in Week 4, and the timing with his receivers in McDaniel’s offence still hasn’t shown up. The Texans have ball-hawking corners in Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter, and this Houston defence picked Herbert off four times in last season’s playoff matchup. At least one interception seems likely here for Herbert in this game.
Houston Texans
The Texans’ backfield is short-handed again. David Montgomery, acquired from the Lions in March, has been out since suffering a groin injury in the Week 5 win over Tennessee, and head coach DeMeco Ryans ruled him out early this week, although he said Montgomery has made progress. That leaves Marks as the lead back, with Dare Ogunbowale and newly signed Emari Demercado behind him after Jawhar Jordan landed on injured reserve. In the passing game, Houston acquired Harrison from Arizona, and he caught a touchdown from Stroud in his Texans debut against the Giants. Tank Dell is also expected to see more snaps coming out of the bye.
Defensively, DeMeco Ryans’ group hasn’t lived up to its 2025 standard, and the Giants’ 188 rushing yards in Week 7 exposed a run defence that has been leaky all year. Still, with Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. rushing off the edge against a Chargers line that has struggled to protect Herbert, Houston’s pass rush should be able to tilt this game.
Los Angeles Chargers
The arrival of McDaniel was supposed to unlock Herbert and the offensive weapons, but the Chargers’ offence has been out of sync from Week 1, plagued by fumbles, penalties and miscommunication on pre-snap motion. Omarion Hampton handled the bulk of the backfield work to start the season, but inefficiency has splintered this backfield into a three-headed committee with Kimani Vidal and Keaton Mitchell. Los Angeles has rarely been able to stay on schedule long enough to lean on any back.
The defence has kept the Chargers in some games, but it can only do so much when the offence is averaging 14.1 points per game. Harbaugh has already admitted his team is letting Herbert down, and with a 0-7 record, the question now is whether Los Angeles can find any spark at all before the season gets away completely. It may already be too late.
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