The Houston Texans are on the road for their 2nd Game of the preseason, facing the Pittsburgh Steelers in their preseason opener. Kickoff Friday at Acrisure Stadium is at 7 p.m. ET (NFL Network). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Texans vs. Steelers odds, and make our expert NFL picks and predictions.
The Texans opened their preseason slate last week in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. They lost 21-17 to the Chicago Bears in a weather-shortened game as 2.5-point favorites.
The Steelers play their preseason opener featuring 2 new QBs. They finished last season 10-7, losing in the Wild Card round to the Buffalo Bills.
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Texans at Steelers odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:27 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Texans -145 (bet $145 to win $100) | Steelers +120 (bet $100 to win $120)
- Against the spread (ATS): Texans -2.5 (-110) | Steelers +2.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 37.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Texans at Steelers picks and predictions
Prediction
Steelers 24, Texans 20
Moneyline
The Texans will play their starters about a quarter. The Steelers will have QB Justin Fields starting as QB Russell Wilson will sit out, still recovering from a calf strain.
Ultimately, the game will be decided by backups and players who mostly won’t be on NFL rosters. There is no good way to predict how that will play out. So the only way to bet preseason games is to simply pick a few games and bet the underdog on the moneyline to get plus odds.
BET STEELERS (+120).
Against the spread
Betting the spread? Preseason games are too volatile to get reasonable trends. Neither team will show all their offense or all their defense. Starters will only play a portion of the game, if at all.
PASS.
Over/Under
Nine of the 16 games in preseason Week 1 last year had totals of Over 37.
The Texans’ game in preseason Game 1 was 29 last year and the Steelers’ game in preseason Week 1 was 44.
The Hall of Fame Game last week had 38 total points in a shortened game.
BET OVER 37.5 (-110).
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