Pittsburgh Steelers vs Houston Texans Prediction, Preview and Odds - 10/01/2023

Game Time: 1:00 pm ET, Sunday, October 1, 2023

Venue:  NRG Stadium, Houston, TX

Where to Watch:  CBS

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Steelers -3, Texans +3; Over/Under:  42 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Steelers -3, Texans +3; Over/Under:  42 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Steelers -3, Texans +3; Over/Under:  42 points

Pittsburgh Steelers:  2-1 (1st place, AFC North)

Houston Texans:  1-2 (2nd place, AFC South)

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Pittsburgh Steelers:  won their last game on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders 23-18.

Houston Texans:  won their last game on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars 37-17.

The Steelers are entering this game with a 2-1 record overall and they have a 1-0 record in their divisional games too. They are 1-1 in their home games, 1-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against the Las Vegas Raiders 23-18. Kenny Pickett was the starting QB and he completed 16/28 passes for 235 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Najee Harris led the team in rushing yards with 65. George Pickens led the receivers with 75 receiving yards on 4 receptions. Minkah Fitzpatrick led the defense in that game with 7 solo tackles and 4 assisted tackles while T. J. Watt led the defense in sacks with 2. Levi Wallace came away with 2 interceptions for them while Patrick Peterson also had 1 interception in that game.

 

 

 

The Texans are entering this game with a 1-2 record overall and they have a 1-1 record in their divisional games too. They are 0-1 in their home games, 1-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against the Jacksonville Jaguars 37-17. CJ Stroud was the starting QB and he completed 20/30 passes for 280 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Devin Singletary led the team in rushing yards with 41. Tank Dell led the receivers with 145 receiving yards on 5 receptions and 1 TD. Shaquill Griffin led the defense in that game with 7 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while no one on the defense recorded a sack in that one. Blake Cashman came away with the only interception for them in that game.

The current betting odds have the Texans listed as a 3 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Texans looked a lot better in their last game as they pulled off a big upset win on the road against the Jags. Now they are coming back home with some momentum on their side and they will be looking to pull themselves back to .500 now that Ryans has the defense playing well. Their offense also looked a lot better with Stroud and that is going to help a lot since the Steelers have a good defense but an offense that has struggled to move the ball. The Steelers are also on the road again in back-to-back weeks and their offense is going to struggle against the Texans defense which has been playing a lot better now. The Steelers have played well in their last 2 games but both of their wins were by 5 points or less and the defense kept the team in both of those games. This game could go either way here with 2 teams who have good defenses but bad offenses so it is best to take the points with the home underdog. The best way to place a bet here is on the Texans to cover the spread in this game.

Steelers Texans Prediction:  Our NFL Pick for Sunday, October 1, 2023 (1:00 pm ET start time) is Texans 20 Steelers 17.

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Pittsburgh Steelers: 13-4 ATS in games where the line is +3 to -3. 8-4 ATS off 2 or more consecutive upset wins as an underdog. 12-6 UNDER in games where the line is +3 to -3. 8-4 UNDER off 2 or more consecutive upset wins as an underdog.

Houston Texans: 6-16 ATS off an upset win over a division rival as an underdog. 21-39 ATS after a game with a turnover margin of +2 or better. 30-16 UNDER against AFC North division opponents. 11-5 UNDER after scoring 35 points or more last game. 

Pittsburgh Steelers:  G. Olszewski (WR) Ques Sun - Head. A. McFarland Jr. (RB) Out indefinitely - Knee. D. Johnson (WR) Mid Oct - Hamstring. C. Heyward (DT) Mid Nov - Groin. R. Wren (DT) I-R - Achilles. C. Trice (DB) I-R - Leg.

Houston Texans:  T. Thomas (CB) Ques Sun - Hand. J. Pitre (S) Ques Sun - Lung. L. Tunsil (OT) Ques Sun - Knee. D. Perryman (LB) Ques Sun - Hand. D. Stingley Jr. (CB) Out indefinitely - Hamstring. H. Ridgeway (DT) Out indefinitely - Calf. N. Brown (WR) Out indefinitely - Groin. T. Howard (OT) Out indefinitely - Hand. C. Johnston (P) Out indefinitely - Calf. J. Scruggs (C) Out indefinitely - Hamstring. K. Green (G) I-R - Shoulder. C. Heck (OT) Out indefinitely - Foot. K. Zierer (OT) I-R - Ankle. T. Hairston (FB) I-R - Back. J. Matthews (WR) I-R - Knee. D. Scaife Jr. (OT) I-R - Leg. S. Quessenberry (C) I-R - Knee.

“(Pickett) made the necessary plays. I thought he was good in the environment. I thought he was a good communicator. He did the job tonight.” - Mike Tomlin after his team’s win against the Raiders in their last game. 

“It's special. To get the first win, it definitely was special.” - DeMeco Ryans after his team’s win against the Jags in their last game. 

WR Austin III, Calvin  

WR Pickens, George 

WR ROBINSON II, ALLEN 

TE Freiermuth, Pat 

QB Pickett, Kenny 

RB Harris, Najee 

WR Collins, Nico 

WR Dell, Tank  

WR WOODS, ROBERT 

TE Schultz, Dalton 

QB Stroud, C.J. 

RB Pierce, Dameon 

FB Beck, Andrew 

Passing: K. Pickett (689)

Rushing: N. Harris (139)

Receiving: G. Pickens (238)

Touchdowns: P. Freiermuth (2)

Passing: C. Stroud (906)

Rushing: D. Pierce (100)

Receiving: N. Collins (260)

Touchdowns: T. Dell (2)

Coaches:

Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike Tomlin (17th season)

Houston Texans: DeMeco Ryans (1st season)