NFL Week 2: Texans vs Bengals: Odds, expert picks, analysis, predictions for Thursday Night Football

The Cincinnati Bengals are set to put a disappointing start to the season behind them on Thursday Night Football against the Houston Texans.

The Bengals got shutout at home when they lost to the Baltimore Ravens 20-0 on Sunday, and it was even more painful than it sounds. Andy Dalton finished the day with five turnover and about a mile logged of running away from Baltimore's’ defensive line.

It could’ve been worse. The Texans offensive line gave up 10 sacks last week as they dropped their home opener to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The stadium seemed desperate to erupt after all the Houston has been through since the hurricane, but their Texans just couldn’t get anything going. The team even made a change at quarterback sitting Tom Savage in favor for rookie Deshaun Watson.

Dropping to (0-2) for either team could be digging a pretty hard hole to come back out of, so this contest become that much more important. Luckily for the Bengals they come in relatively healthy considering it is a Thursday Night game, and they also get Adam Jones back from suspension. John Ross is also listed as questionable after missing Week 1.

The Texans aren’t so lucky as they are extremely thin at tight end after two suffered injuries that will leave them out for Thursday Night Football. They are also expected to be without Brian Cushing who is dealing with a concussion.

Odds

Odds makers vie the Bengals as pretty strong favorites. The line for the game has been as low as three points, but most have the Bengals as a 6.5-point favorite

As of Wednesday morning, the Bengals are a 6.5-point favorite, according to OddsShark. This is despite the fact that since Dalton and A.J. Green have been drafted the Bengals only have one victory over the Texans.

Here are some recent betting trends for both teams:

• Cincinnati is 4-2 against the spread in its last six games
• Cincinnati is 6-11-2 against the spread in its last 19 games
• Cincinnati is 3-6-1 straight up in its last 10 games
• The total has gone under in five of Cincinnati’s last five games
• Cincinnati is 2-4 against the spread in its last six home games
• Cincinnati is 2-3-1 straight up in its last six home games
• The total has gone under in four of Cincinnati’s last five home games
• Cincinnati is 2-7 against the spread in its last nine games when playing Houston
• Cincinnati is 1-7 straight up in its last eight games when playing Houston
• The total has gone under four of Cincinnati’s last five games when playing Houston
• Cincinnati is 1-4 against the spread in its last five games when playing Houston at home
• Houston is 1-5 against the spread in its last five games
• The total has gone under in six of Houston’s last nine games
• Houston is 1-4 against the spread in its last five games on the road
• Houston is 1-4 straight up in its last five games on the road

Picks

• CBS Sports only has three of their eight experts taking the Bengals
• SB Nation has five of their nine experts taking the Bengals
• Fox Sports projects a 21-19 victory for the Bengals
• NFL Pick Watch, which takes into account all all of the expert pickers across the internet, currently has the Bengals receiving 75% of the picks at this time

It is weird the Bengals are viewed as such favorites after such a dismal Week 1, especially on a short week against a team they have historically struggled against. It would still be a great way for the Bengals to prove that Week 1 performance won’t define their season by burying their Texans ghosts on Thursday Night Football.