Texans vs. Cardinals Odds & Pick 10/24/21

Houston Texans (1-5 SU, 3-3 ATS) vs. Arizona Cardinals (6-0, 5-1 ATS)

Week 7 NFL

Date/Time: Sunday, October 24, 2021 at 4:25PM EDT

Where: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

TV: CBS

Point Spread: HOU +17/ARI -17 (MyBookie – Grab a 100% bonus up to $300 at the web’s most fun sportsbook when you use bonus code PREDICT100 when registering for an account!)

Over/Under Total: 47.5

The Houston Texans battle the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at State Farm Stadium. It’s a stark matchup featuring a struggling Texans team, losers of five straight, against the only unbeaten team left in the NFL with the 6-0 Cardinals. It’s a game where the conclusion will be to take the Cardinals, simply based on how strong the contrast is between both teams. Is that how it will play out? A Cardinals blowout is certainly on the table, especially at home against a Texans team where a lot of players have never played in this stadium. But can we make a case for the Texans to keep this one respectable? Let’s get into it?

Looking for the Silver Lining for the Texans

Whatever scrappiness the Texans were showing by covering some spreads early in the season has been eaten away at by a brutal part of the schedule. Three road games in four weeks where they face the Bills, and now the Cardinals aren’t doing them any favors. They blew it in a close home loss to the Patriots a few weeks back, but against the Bills and Colts in their other road games during this stretch, they have been beaten a combined 71-3. Last week’s 31-3 loss to the Colts was ugly. And while we’ve heard it said this season that the Cardinals can be exploited defensively, especially on the ground, this is still a tough spot for the Texans across the board.

Still, being 3-3 against the spread and having been dangerous in certain spots makes it so you can’t completely blow off the Texans when they’re getting a big number like this. For the Cardinals, it’s a game that you would figure registers pretty low on the urgency-meter, facing a Texans team with which they have no real connection. That’s not an endorsement to start playing the dangerous game of trying to time a Cardinals’ letdown, but after a tough road spot against the Browns last week and with the Packers coming into town next week, this could be a sandwich game where they don’t lay it on thick against the outgunned Texans.

The Harsh Realities of This Week for the Texans

What got the Texans to this spot is unimportant now, but suffice to say chunks have been taken out of this offense. They’re reduced to a good wide receiver in Brandin Cooks, the sometimes still-lively legs of Mark Ingram, and that’s about it. QB Davis Mills, thrust into this spot, works behind a deficient offensive line that would seem to be sitting ducks for an Arizona pass-rush that can really bring the heat. Mills can spray the ball around nicely in spots but has more picks than TDs and is getting the kinds of results you’d expect from a guy who was the intended third choice for this offense.

The Cardinals might not be the most stingy defense. They’ll let you get some things going. But against mistake-prone offenses, they can really do a lot of damage. They get after the passer heavy, and the secondary can make big plays and take the ball away. They have given up a total of 63 points in their last four games, and now in comes a Houston offense that, outside of a little first-half spurt against the Patriots at home a few weeks ago, hasn’t seen anything good happen in over a month. It doesn’t bode well, and in many ways, Houston is hoping for something fluky to happen or that maybe the Cardinals just don’t give this game the same attention they’ve given others this season.

Other than Cooks, no one on this Houston offense would even be seeing any real playing time on the Cardinals’ offense. With Kyler Murray leading the way, running backs James Conner and Chase Edmonds, and big-time receiving juice with DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, AJ Green, Rondale Moore, and others, it’s an embarrassment of riches in relation to Houston’s stripped-bare offense. Sure, you’re getting a bunch of points and even some potential Cardinals’ apathy. But they still need to compete and be halfway presentable even to cover this number. And from what we’ve seen in similar road-spots, that’s not something you can bank on with any certainty. It’s true that there is a lot of parity in this league, but if looking to get behind Houston, I might be inclined to look for a more specialized spot. On the road against a powerful team out of conference and well out of their stomping grounds, this is a spot where they could hit bottom.

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X-Factors

An unbeaten team could be expected to let off the gas in a spot like this, but is that true for a team in a top-heavy conference? Is it as likely with a team that has never experienced real success before? Or is this too easy? Is picking an unbeaten team to jump on a team on a losing slide too obvious? Is a backdoor cover on the table with Arizona likely to cruise to the finish line in this one? Either way, you go, it’s a game where you can’t help but second-guess yourself.

Lay the Big Number

No spot is going to be a good one for the Texans, but this doesn’t look to be one of their more favorable ones. Seeing them hang in there against a team facing its own issues, maybe their pluck can surface. When outmanned across the board, sitting there and hoping for something short of the roof caving in is a negative play. I’m thinking the Cardinals can build enough of a lead to withstand a late surge and get out of the week with another win and cover. I’ll take the Cardinals.

Loot’s Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I’m betting on the Arizona Cardinals minus 17 points. This is a GREAT game to live bet! The absolute best live wagering platform on the web is Bovada Sportsbook! They offer lines almost 100% of the time! Most books only offer lines during commercial breaks! Click here to sign up with the best + receive a 50% bonus and rebates on ALL your bets; win, lose or draw!