We have reached the midway point of the NFL regular season as we kick off Week 9 Thursday night with the Houston Texans (1-5-1, 0-2-1 home) hosting the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles (7-0, 3-0 away). Philadelphia is 5-0 against the Texans in franchise history.
Thursday’s kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. EST inside NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Philadelphia is a 14-point favorite, and the over/under total is 45.0 points.
What to Know – Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia will try and stay the only undefeated team in the NFL as a heavy favorite in Thursday’s matchup. The Eagles sit atop the NFC East standings with a two-game advantage over the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.
Jalen Hurts is leading the Eagles through the air and with his legs, throwing ten touchdown passes and running for six scores. Hurts has thrown for 1,799 yards, completing 67.0% of his passes. The dual-threat quarterback has added 303 yards on the ground as the team’s second-leading rusher.
Miles Sanders is benefitting from the Eagles’ offense, averaging 4.9 yards per carry when he touches the ball. Sanders has found the endzone five times and has accumulated 563 yards on the ground.
A.J. Brown erupted last week for 156 yards and three touchdowns on six catches. The former Tennessee Titans wide receiver now has 39 receptions for 659 yards and five scores. Tight end Dallas Goedert has 32 catches for 421 yards, while wideout DeVonta Smith adds 38 receptions for 420 yards.
What to Know – Houston Texans
The Texans franchise continue to struggle to get any type of winning momentum going. Houston is again heading for another losing record, its third in a row and 14th in franchise history. The Texans sit at the bottom of the AFC South.
Quarterback Davis Mills has struggled to find rhythm under center in Houston. The former Stanford Cardinal ranks near the bottom of every statistical category offensively, with a quarterback rating of just 31.6. Mills has thrown eight touchdowns and six interceptions, completing 63.1% of his passes.
Dameon Pierce has been a bright spot for the Texans and appears to be someone the franchise can build their team around moving forward. Pierce has ran the ball 121 times for 539 yards and scored three TDs.
The fourth-round pick has caught 20 passes for 98 yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Brandin Cooks gets a majority of the targets in the passing game. Cooks has seen 53 targets this year, hauling in 32 passes for 354 yards and one touchdown. Nico Collins runs opposite of Cooks and is second on the team with 18 catches and 305 yards.
The Pick is In
Fans might be in store for another Thursday night snoozer this week. This one should actually have some offense, however, but it might come from just one team. Philadelphia is paving its way for a deep playoff run, and the Texans aren’t built to stop them.
The Pick: Philadelphia Eagles -14
