The Houston Texans finished last season with a record of 3-13-1 which was the 2^nd worst record in the NFL only behind the Carolina Panthers. The Texans will be with a new head coach for the 2^nd season in a row as they fired David Culley after last season and hired DeMeco Ryans who served as the Defensive Coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers last season.

Meanwhile, the New England Patriots finished last season with a record of 8-9 which led to a 3^rd place in the AFC East and missing the playoffs for the 2^nd time since the 2008 NFL season. Bill Belichick enters his 24^th season as the head coach for the Patriots.

BookMaker has the New England Patriots listed as 1-point favorites at home against the Houston Texans and has set the total for the over/under plays at 38.5 points. Which team will get a win in their first preseason game of the season? Let’s take a deeper dive into how these teams are expected to perform this season.

Houston Texans Team Preview

The Houston Texans finished with the 2^nd worst record in the NFL last season and a 4^th place finish in the AFC South with a record of 3-13-1. The Texans were 8-8-1 ATS overall, 5-3-1 ATS on the road, and 8-8-1 ATS as an underdog last season.

Offensively, the Texans were tied for 31^st in points per game with an average of 17 points. Houston ranked 31^st in rushing yards with an average of 86.82 rushing yards per game. The Texans ranked 25^th in passing yards with an average of 196.71 passing yards. 

Defensively, Houston ranked 27^th in points allowed with an average of 24.71 points allowed per game. The Houston Texans ranked 32^nd in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game with an average of 170.24 yards. The Texans ranked 10^th in passing yards allowed with an average of 209.29 passing yards allowed per game.

New England Patriots Team Preview

The New England Patriots missed the playoffs for the 2^nd time since the 2008 NFL season finishing the season with a record of 8-9 which led to a 3^rd place finish in the AFC East. The Patriots were 7-9-1 ATS overall, 3-5 ATS at home, and 5-2-1 ATS as a favorite.

Offensively, the New England Patriots ranked 16^th in points scored with an average of 21.41 points per game. New England ranked 24^th in rushing yards with an average of 106.65 rushing yards per game. The Patriots ranked 20^th in passing yards per game with an average of 207.94 yards.

Defensively, the Patriots ranked 11^th in points allowed per game with an average of 20.41 points. New England ranked 7^th in rushing yards allowed with an average of 105.47 rushing yards allowed per game. The New England Patriots ranked 15^th in passing yards allowed per game with an average of 216.53 passing yards.

Series Trends and Game Pick

New England has won eight of the last ten games in the series and has won by an average score of 29.3 to 21.1 while both teams are 5-5 ATS in those matchups. The Texans have won two of the last three games in the series and have won by an average score of 25.67 to 22.33 while going 3-0 ATS in those contests.

The over has hit in six of the last ten games in the series with the teams combining for an average of 50.4 points per game in those contests. The over has hit in two of the last three games in the series with the teams combining for an average of 48 points per game in those matchups.

New England is the more talented team, however, Houston has been the better team most recently in the series, winning two of the last three games. The Texans have won by an average margin of 3.33 points per game over the last three games in the series. As a result, I am taking the money line for the Houston Texans at +100 on BookMaker for this matchup on Thursday.