Saturday night preseason football and we will see the Atlanta Falcons travel to Reliant Stadium in Texas to take on the Houston Texans. The game has a start time of 8:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised locally. Current Vegas odds have the Texans listed as 3 point favorites, while the total is set at 40.
Analysis: The Atlanta Falcons started off their preseason with a 16-10 win over the Miami Dolphins. The Falcons piled up 288 yards through the air but on just 20 of 38 passing (52.6%) and continuously bogged down when they got deep in Miami territory. Tyler Yates was just 7 of 16 for 127 yards, while Sean Renfree connected on just 6 of 15 passes for 108 yards. Mat Ryan had a solid showing though, hitting all 7 of his passes for 53 yards in very limited action. He should get more reps in this one. Devonta Freeman led the team in rushing (50 yards), while Bernard Reedy led them in receiving yards (61). The defense played really well for the Falcons, as they allowed just 229 total yards to Miami, including limiting them to just 52 yards on the ground.
The Houston Texans had high hopes coming into the year, but if their 32-0 loss to Arizona is any indication of the year to come, then they still have plenty of work to do. The Texans were thoroughly outplayed on both sides of the ball in their loss to the Cardinals, as they were outgained by 235 yards and outfirstdowned by a 27-9 count. Ryan Fiztpatrick has a horrible showing at QB as he hit just 6 of 14 passes for 55 yards, while throwing 2 INTs in the game. Case Keenum didn't fare much better, throwing for just 29 yards, while Tom Savage had just 14 yards passing. Defensively, Houston was shredded for 326 yards though the air, which was not a good sign, as the defense looks to be the strength of this team.
Pick: Going with the Texans in this one. I know just about the whole world is on them, but i do feel it is the right side. Houston couldn't have played any worse last week on both sides of the ball and I expect them to bounce back in this one. I know this is just preseason, but the Texans have a new head coach that i'm sure wants to win this one. They need something positive after crashing and burning last year, and then in game 1 of the preseason. The Falcons took their opener vs the Dolphins, but still had problems scoring, especially in the red zone and their defense is not as good as they showed vs Miami, Mike Smith is not a great preseason coach and with the Falcons coming off a win and the Texans getting embarrassed I expect Houston to be the much more motivated team, especially in front of the home crowd.
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NFL Free Picks: Atlanta Falcons vs Houston Texans Betting
What pro football bettors need to know about betting Atlanta Falcons vs Houston Texans on Saturday (8/16/14) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Ken Thomson with added Insight from Chuck Edel.