Houston Texans vs. Las Vegas Raiders: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 10/23/2022

Time: 4:05 p.m. ET

Venue: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV

Where to watch: CBS

DraftKings: Raiders -7

FanDuel: Raiders -7

BetMGM: Raiders -7

Caesars: Raiders -7

Texans: 1-3-1

Raiders: 1-4

Texans: BYE (won 13-6 at Jaguars in Week 5)

Raiders: BYE (lost 30-29 at Chiefs in Week 5)

If you’ve ever wanted to see a Toilet Bowl live and in person, may I suggest you make a trip to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas this weekend and be sure to watch the display of what might be the worst football of all time? We’re on pace for that when the Houston Texans take on the Las Vegas Raiders, with the latter possibly missing out on having top receiver Davante Adams in the fold because he went full-on idiot and got pressed with charges for shoving a cameraman. Alas, Adams might be a go because the NFL isn’t suspending him, but surely something will come about that will make things go haywire.

But we shall start with the lovely, lowly Texans who are coming off their bye but had a 13-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5. Clearly, the Jaguars are who we thought they were and we let them off the hook. Dennis Green couldn’t even save this team if he wanted to. Davis Mills is coming off a game where he completed 16 of 24 for 140 yards and yet somehow that was more than enough to win for Lovie Smith’s first victory as coach of the Texans. Given the fact that the Texans really don’t have much to celebrate as of late, this is bound to be a game where they may actually feel like they could win. The main story of the game was running back Dameon Pierce, running for 99 yards and a touchdown aided by a 20-yard run that involved six broken tackles.

"Go country boy, go," Pierce said, recalling his thoughts at the time. "I was trying to get to that touchdown. I know I had them big boys coming, eventually. They were going to run behind me at some point. So I was just trying to fight to get in the end zone."

The Texans haven’t had much to cheer for as of late, but a tough-nosed win like that with defense playing up to standard is good for the confidence. That sounds like a classic Lovie quote, to be honest, and I think we’re all here for it.

At least we can give a pass to the Texans for being bad. The Raiders are just no excuse. They’re 1-4 with losses by one score, the most recent coming off a blown 17-point lead to the Kansas City Chiefs in losing 30-29. They wasted a career performance from Adams with 8 receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns, while Hunter Renfrow also made his return after missing time with a concussion. But the fact of the matter is the Raiders keep finding ways to lose, whether it be inept quarterbacking from Derek Carr or horrendous coaching from Josh McDaniels.

"We're close but close doesn't count in this game," Carr said. "It's frustrating."

The Texans have been abysmal the last three years at just 6-24 straight up as an underdog, while also losing 14 of their last 19 on the road. Meanwhile, the Raiders are 19-20 straight up in their last three years and are just 8-11 straight up in their last 19 home games. Pick your poison how you will.

If I could just get a 3-0 ballgame in a dome, that would be wonderful. But ultimately, I think the Raiders get the win and don’t let things go haywire instead. Raiders by  6

 

Texans are 6-9 ATS as a road underdog the last three years.

Texans are 10-22 ATS in dome games in their history.

Raiders are 16-32 ATS since 1992 off a road loss to divisional rival.

Raiders are 1-6 ATS in their last seven off a road loss.

Passing: Davis Mills -- 1,048 yards, 5 TD, 4 INT

Rushing: Dameon Pierce -- 412 yards, 3 TD

Receiving: Brandin Cooks -- 235 yards, 1 TD

Defense: Jerry Hughes -- 4 sacks

Passing: Derek Carr -- 1,279 yards, 8 TD, 4 INT

Rushing: Josh Jacobs -- 490 yards, 3 TD

Receiving: Davante Adams -- 414 yards, 5 TD

Defense: Maxx Crosby -- 6 sacks