Texans at Broncos: Preview, Predictions, and More

Houston Texans vs Denver Broncos

This game has been circled on the calendar ever since quarterback Brock Osweiler left the Denver Broncos to sign with the Houston Texans. It looked at first like the Broncos would struggle to replace the retired Peyton Manning after his heir apparent left.

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Originally it appeared Mark Sanchez would fill in until rookie Paxton Lynch was ready. Then out of nowhere, Trevor Siemian became the guy and The Sanchize was cut. Their new starter, Siemian has guided the Broncos to a 4-2 start (although one of those losses came with Lynch starting as Siemian had a shoulder injury).

His play has been up-and-down, but the results have been favorable. Speaking of up-and-down play, that could also describe Osweiler.

The Texans are also 4-2, but they have looked rough at times. Perhaps they can ride the momentum of an amazing comeback win on Sunday Night Football as they again have a huge game in the bright lights, this time on Monday night.

Houston Keys To Victory

A Confident Osweiler – Osweiler was 7-of-17 passing in the first half, but he went bananas in the fourth quarter whie the team erased a 14-point deficit. The difference? Osweiler held the ball too long and didn’t trust his eyes in the first 30 minutes. With the game coming to a close he was quick with his decisions and carved the Colts apart. He needs to be more like that fourth-quarter Brock we saw for them to have a chance.

Pressure Siemian – Make no mistake, Osweiler is a more talented player than Siemian. Still, if Houston doesn’t generate pressure, the final stats won’t show that. Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus need to step up in J.J. Watt’s absence for Houston to be able to get their first road win of the season.

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Get Lamar Miller going early – The Broncos want to bring the heat and hit Osweiler. One way to mitigate that pss rush will be with a strong running game. Lamar Miller can bring that for Houston. They also would be wise to get him going with screen passes to slow down the pass rusher.

Denver Keys To Victory

Make Osweiler uncomfortable: Like it was stated earlier, Osweiler has been inconsistent to say the least. Pressuring him will bring out the worst in him. Denver needs to bring the house early and shake their former quarterback up.

Stuff Lamar Miller: Negating the run game will put all the pressure on the Texans passing game. That will allow the Broncos to pin their ears back and blow this game open.

Attack the secondary: The Texans are hurting in the secondary, especially at cornerback. With Kevin Johnson out, they need to take some shots against their less-talented defensive backs. Denver has the advantage here, and would be wise to exploit it.

Odds

Point Spread: Denver -7
Moneyline: Houston +295, Denver -370
Over/Under: 41.5

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Prediction

The Texans were great agains the Colts for about 15 minutes. For 45 minutes they were completely awful. On the road this season, they have been more like the bad Texans from the first three-quarters of Sunday Night’s game.

Denver on the other hand is fresh after playing a Thursday night game last week and the defense is ready to make Osweiler look foolish for leaving. Absent a miraculous turnaround in quarterback play, this one probably won’t be pretty.

Pick: Houston Texans: 13, Denver Broncos: 28

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