NFL
Mike Schultz
November 17, 2016

Texans vs. Raiders Point Spread: Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football marks the NFL’s return to Mexico City and the stadium where they held their first international series, Estadio Azteca, for the first time since 2005. The players are two team in first place in their divisions, so the matchup is one of the more exciting MNF events this season. Sports Interaction’s NFL betting odds have the Raiders as favorites.

Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders

Point spread: Raiders -5.5

Over/under: 46

Date: Monday, November 21, 2016

Location: Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders are currently in possession of a great 7-2 record, tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the lead in the AFC West. They’ve won their last three in a row, with the latest a win over the Super Bowl champ Denver Broncos. Oakland is also rested and healed up after a bye week last week.

This team, under an MVP-looking Derek Carr, put up 397 yards offensively in their defeat of the Broncos, including 218 yards on the ground. Carr looked good, going 20-for-31 through the air for 184 yards while running back Latavius Murray was the hero of the day with 114 yards rushing and three scores.

Offensively, these couldn’t be two more different teams. Oakland is one of the best in the league right now, while Houston is by far one of the NFL’s worst. The Raiders are close to 100 yards per game better offensively than the struggling Texans, and should have no problem making easy work of the Houston defense, much like they did to the similarly ranked Broncos.

Houston Texans

Brock Osweiler hasn’t been the saving grace that the Texans had hoped he would be. Osweiler ranks 29th in completion percentage, 31st in QB rating and is last in the league for yards per pass attempt. That said, they are coming off of two straight wins, where they managed to find some success with the running game. Lamar Miller had 83 rushing yards on 15 carries.

In order to exploit the Raider’s most glaring weakness, their pass defense, a team needs a solid quarterback. Osweiler isn’t the QB to claim a win that way. Defensively, the Texans have some strengths, and are one of the best in the NFL at the moment, allowing just over 317 yards per game. Even without J.J. Watt, they’re still ranked 4th in total defense. The Texans’ are 26th in the league against the run, giving up 120.7 yards per game.

Historically, Houston has the advantage, with a 6-3 all-time record against Oakland over nine regular season meetings.