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Coming off one of the most headlined summers in team history, the Houston Texans are your classic underdog heading into the new NFL year. The offense will look quite a bit different, while the already stellar defense took things up a notch with some veteran help.
How different will the offense be? Brian Hoyer is now at the helm, for one. DeAndre Hopkins, Cecil Shorts and Nate Washington will collectively try to fill the hole left behind by Andre Johnson. Oh, and Arian Foster is out for around a month. It's not a complete overhaul, of course. The NFL's least productive group of tight ends will all be back!
Despite the turmoil on offense, the Week 1 NFL betting line at TopBet shows the Texans (-1.5) dropping fellow AFC contending Chiefs (+1.5) in their season opener, and you can thank the defense for that.
They were one of the league's best units thanks in large part to J.J. Watt. He’s coming off an almost MVP caliber season, where he won Defensive Player of the Year. He added 20.5 sacks, two defensive and three offensive touchdowns and he's looking strong and quick as ever. The man never stops trying to get better.
The addition of long-time Patriot Vince Wilfork combined with the return of young Jadeveon Clowney should give Watt plenty of help throughout the season. But there are simply too many unknowns so far and the preseason betting lines reflect that.
Here are the odds for Houston winning the AFC Championship in January 2016.
|
Team |
Odds |
|
+300 |
|
|
+350 |
|
|
+400 |
|
|
+1,000 |
|
|
+1,200 |
|
|
+1,400 |
|
|
+1,600 |
|
|
+1,800 |
|
|
+2,000 |
|
|
+2,200 |
|
+2,200 |
|
|
+3,000 |
|
|
+3,300 |
|
|
+6,000 |
|
|
+10,000 |
|
|
+10,000 |
And here are the Super Bowl futures for each team, again per TopBet.
|
Team |
Odds |
|
+700 |
|
|
+700 |
|
|
+700 |
|
|
+800 |
|
|
+800 |
|
|
+800 |
|
|
+1,500 |
|
|
+2,000 |
|
|
+2,400 |
|
|
+2,500 |
|
|
+2,800 |
|
|
+3,500 |
|
|
+3,500 |
|
|
+3,500 |
|
|
+3,500 |
|
|
+4,000 |
|
|
+4,500 |
|
|
+4,500 |
|
|
+4,500 |
|
|
+4,500 |
|
|
+5,000 |
|
|
+6,000 |
|
|
+7,000 |
|
|
+7,000 |
|
|
+7,000 |
|
|
+8,000 |
|
|
+10,000 |
|
|
+10,000 |
|
|
+10,000 |
|
|
+12,500 |
|
|
+15,000 |
I wrote a post like this just after the draft, and it appears that lines-makers are slightly more confident in the Texans, lessening the line from 50 to 1 down to 45 to 1 since May.
Personally, I'm looking at that +1500 for the Dallas Cowboys. I mean, Tony Romo can't muck things up every year can he? And he's got an elite offensive line (with depth, even!) in front of him and some potent weapons around him. That'd be my pick.
Confused? You can learn more about futures betting here.
What say you, readers? Got a hot tip? Have much experience in sports betting? Share your stories down below. Happy Labor Day!