Phil Agius
NFL
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The Houston Texans look to be in for another tough day against the Los Angeles Rams in NFL Week 8, with starting QB Tyrod Taylor not yet ready to return.
The Texans have lost 6 in a row and backup QB Davis Mills looks outmatched against one of the league’s strongest teams, who arrive with a 6-1 record.
Let’s take a look at the 3-leg same game parlay we’ve prepared for the game in Texas, which pays +795 odds with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Rams -15.5 (-115)
Tyler Higbee anytime touchdown scorer (+165)
Over 25.5 David Johnson receiving yards (-113)
Parlay odds: +795
Rams -15.5 (-130)
The teams’ respective records — 6-1 for the Rams, 1-6 for the Texans — look like a tennis score and LA should really win this one in straight sets. Houston has been hammered 40-0, 31-3 and 31-5 in 3 of its last 4 games, with a surprisingly lively effort in a narrow loss to the Patriots in between, but morale in the camp has taken another hit this week with receiver Brandin Cooks upset at veteran RB Mark Ingram being traded.
The Rams flopped as a similarly heavy favorite last week, and even looked in danger of losing to the winless Lions, but they had previously been pretty ruthless in dispatching the other weak teams they have faced this season, beating the Bears by 20 and the Giants by 27. With QB Matthew Stafford no doubt feeling good after overcoming his former team, the Rams can comfortably take their road record to 4-0.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Los Angeles Rams vs Houston Texans
Tyler Higbee anytime touchdown scorer (+165)
Looking at the Texans’ recent defeats to see which position players might have most success against them, the verdict is that there should be hope for everyone! In their last 2 losses to the Colts and Cardinals, the Texans gave up TDs to wide receivers, tight ends and running backs in each game. The Patriots scored TDs only on the ground and with a tight end, while the Bills scored twice through a tight end, and on two runs (one RB, one QB). The common factor in all of those, you will have noticed, was tight end, and with the Rams’ Tyler Higbee striking up a good relationship with Stafford, he looks worth adding to our parlay. Higbee’s two scores this season came in Weeks 3 and 5, but his volume has been up with 10 receptions on 13 targets in the last 2 weeks, so the opportunities to score should be there.
Over 25.5 David Johnson receiving yards (-113)
Ingram’s departure to rejoin the Saints tidies up the Texans’ 3-headed veteran backfield, leaving David Johnson and Phillip Lindsay to share the load with youngster Scottie Phillips. Lindsay has been relatively out of favor of late, so former Cardinal Johnson will be expected to see the bigger rise in usage. As well as running more, Johnson thrives in the passing games and him getting over 25.5 receiving yards, with the Texans likely to be playing from behind from early on, seems highly achievable.
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