Ravens, Texans Clash in a Possible Playoff Eliminator
The Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans are both desperate to improve their dim chances of reaching the playoffs.
The Week 12 NFL betting odds favor the Ravens by 7.5 points.
With both teams picking up victories this past weekend and looking to record consecutive victories when they square off in their Week 12 Monday Night Football matchup, let’s find out which team is offering the best value tonight.
We'll start by looking at both against-the-spread options:
Bet on the Texans +7.5 because ...
Houston just got their first win of the season without rookie Deshaun Watson under center when they beat Arizona, 31-21, in Week 11 to cash in as a 2.5-point home favorite.
Veteran quarterback Tom Savage passed for 230 yards and two touchdowns while running back Devonta Freeman added 65 rushing yards and two scores.
Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins added four catches for 76 yards and one score in the win and Houston’s defense picked off inconsistent backup Blaine Gabbert twice.
Bet on the Ravens -7.5 because ...
The Baltimore Ravens shut out the listless Green Bay Packers, 23-0, last weekend as veteran signal-caller Joe Flacco tossed one TD pass, and running back Alex Collins rushed for another score.
However, it was Baltimore’s smothering defense that really led the way to victory by picking off Packers backup, Brett Hundley, three times and limiting Green Bay to just 75 rushing yards in the win.
So ...
48% of public bettors like Houston to cover the chalk in this affair. Baltimore may have a solid defense, but they certainly aren’t very explosive offensively.
Still, though, I like the Ravens to get the win and a narrow ATS cover against a Texans team that only beat Arizona last weekend because of the absolutely pitiful play of Gabbert, who should never see any action before Drew Stanton if you ask me.
Here's our ATS pick ...
The Texans are 1-9 ATS in their last 10 Monday night games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games in November.
On the flip side, the Ravens are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Monday Night Football games and a robust 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 games against their AFC counterparts.
Baltimore is a lot healthier after getting a bye in Week 10, and I believe their desperation will drive them to the home win and super-narrow ATS cover.
ATS Pick: Baltimore -7.5
Result: Baltimore 23 Houston 16 ... Texans cover
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Sportbet Columnist: Josh Bailey
Aspiring to become the Mark Twain of sports writing, Josh has been labelled as the up-&-coming sports writer of the year by absolutely nobody and the new heavy hitter in sports handicapping by his mother.