Houston Texans vs Carolina Panthers Odds, Best Bets, and Prediction

Houston Texans vs Carolina Panthers Preview
Kickoff: Thursday, September 23rd, 8:20 PM ET. NRG Stadium (Houston)
Moneyline: Texans (+325), Panthers (-425)
Spread: Texans (+8), Panthers (-8)

Week 3 of the NFL season gets started Thursday night with an interconference battle between the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans. This is just the sixth all-time meeting between the two young franchises with Carolina winning three in a row over Houston. With the Panthers starting the season 2-0, they are listed as 7.5-point favorites on the road. The over/under for the game is listed at 44 points.

Houston Texans Preview

On paper, the Texans were one of the teams most at risk to go winless in 2021, although they took care of that early with a Week 1 win over the Jaguars. However, the good vibes didn’t last long, as Houston fell short in last week’s 31-21 loss in Cleveland. For what it’s worth, the Texans did beat the 13.5-point spread. But the fact that they were nearly two-touchdown underdogs last week and a home underdog this week says a lot about how the oddsmakers feel about Houston.

To make matters worse, the Texans aren’t sure if they’ll have starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor on Thursday. Taylor completed 10 of his first 11 passes against the Browns last week before leaving the game. There is some hope that he’ll play, but it looks doubtful, which is a shame because Taylor has played well early in the season. His replacement will likely be rookie Davis Mills with Deshaun Watson likely to remain inactive. Mills was just eight for 18 throwing the ball with one touchdown and one interception in relief of Taylor last week. The Texans have been good but not great at running the ball in two weeks, so they’ll be in a tough position without Taylor.

The Houston defense isn’t likely to help out much after giving up 31 points against the Browns last week. In fairness, the Texans have forced five turnovers and three sacks over the first two weeks of the season. But 52 points is a lot to give up for a team that’s been good at creating turnovers. When the Houston defense isn’t creating takeaways, they aren’t doing enough to get stops. They also got torn apart on the ground last week, albeit by one of the best rushing teams in the NFL.

Carolina Panthers Preview

Not many would have predicted the Panthers would start the season 2-0, but Matt Rhule’s team has been one of the early surprises. It’s not just that Carolina is 2-0 as much as it’s the fact that the Panthers dominated New Orleans 26-7 last week. That win speaks volumes after the way the Saints dismantled Green Bay in Week 1. Even though they now have to play back-to-back games on the road, the Panthers appear to have a rather manageable schedule between now and the end of October, so Carolina has an opportunity to continue the team’s fast start.

Sam Darnold has been a pleasant surprise through the first two weeks of the season. Perhaps all he needed to do was leave the Jets to find success. He threw for over 300 yards against the New Orleans defense last week. Again, that’s the same New Orleans defense that embarrassed Aaron Rodgers the previous week. The only caveat is that Christian McCaffrey is yet to recapture the form he had two years ago before the injury that sidelined him for most of 2020. He’s getting plenty of touches but averaged just three yards per carry against the Saints. However, McCaffrey is also a factor in the passing game and is going to continue to get plenty of touches.

Meanwhile, the Panthers have conceded the fewest points in the NFL through the first two weeks of the season. Of course, playing the Jets in Week 1 has contributed to that a lot. But there’s no denying that the Carolina defense was impressive against the Saints last week. They amassed four sacks, picked off Jameis Winston twice, and completely took Alvin Kamara out of the game. In fact, Winston ended up leading the Saints in rushing. It’s worth noting that there is a lot of youth on the Carolina defense, so consistency from week to week could be an issue. However, the Panthers have shown plenty of promise on that side of the ball early in the season.

Full Texans vs Panthers Prediction

It’s always good to be skeptical of a road team that’s favored by more than a touchdown, even if they’ve looked as impressive as the Panthers early in the season. However, if Taylor can’t play, it’s a massive blow to the Texans, who aren’t good enough defensively to survive if they aren’t able to score points. Starting a rookie quarterback on a short week against the top defense in the league isn’t typically a formula for success, giving the Panthers an excellent chance to win and cover.

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