December 31 - While 2009 is almost at an end, the 2009/2010 NFL season is
only starting to heat up with the playoffs around the corner. But at least
NFL sports betting fans will have two days to recover from New Year's
before the Houston Texans take on the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Currently leading the AFC East division 10-5, Sunday's game will probably not be
as crucial to the Patriots as it will to the Texans who will be scrambling to
finish the season as the number 3 or 4 seed in the playoffs. But either way, in
the first round of the playoffs Houston will face a wild card team.
As to how this affects NFL betting lines on Sunday, the short answer is probably
quite a bit. Most of the pressure on Sunday will be on the Texans because they
have to beat the Patriots for a shot at making the playoffs. If they win,
they'll end the regular season on 9-7 - for the first time.
And the home team may be able to pull it off if they play as well as they did
last week against the Miami Dolphins. In the first half, Houston absolutely
dominated the home team, racking up a score of 27-0. And despite Miami's renewed
vigor in the second half, the Texans still won by a convincing 27-20.
In that game Houston were +3, cashing in the +115 money line bet. The game went
over the 45 betting total. The Patriots, meanwhile, made mincemeat of their
opponents, the Jacksonville Jaguars, by dispatching them 35-7. The Patriots
covered the 8 points and the score line stayed under the total of 43.5.
So, with both the Houston Texans and the New England Patriots coming off
victories, it will be interesting to see how they each play on Sunday. The teams
have not played each other since 2006, where the New England Patriots won 40-7,
covering the 12.5 point spread and going over total of 38.
Leading online sports betting site Bodog has released the following odds on the
Houston Texans vs. the New England Patriots on Sunday:
Match Winner
- Houston Texans 1.26
- New England Patriots 3.80
Point Spread
- Houston Texans (-7.5) 1.91
- New England Patriots (7.5) 1.91
Total Points
- over (46.0) 1.91
- Under (46.0) 1.91
|
