OUR NFL nut Louis Ross (@LouisRoss67) shares his verdict on Thursday night football’s showdown between Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans.
Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans | Friday 01.25 | Sky Sports 1
Thursday night down in Houston and the 1-3 Texans take on the 2-2 Colts. For the first time I can recall on the day of a game, any two of five Quarterbacks could start the game. And they may not be the pair that finishes it.
Houston started the season by naming Brian Hoyer as the starter. So we are all thinking five or six games and if he does not get it done, Ryan Mallet will get his chance.
No, no, no. Coach Bill O'Brien makes his change during the very first game and Mallet is in. Only he’s not really in, because last Sunday he was yanked out of the game and replaced by… Brian Hoyer. What a mess.
Maybe this is a new tactic. A different signal caller for each series, perhaps? To be fair, it has been a little difficult to judge Houston without star Running Back Arian Foster. The big man made a partial comeback in Week 4. Look for him to be a lot more involved from this point on.
Having a good running game takes all kind of pressure off the QB and we may see some improvement from this point. They need to. It is a crying shame that a player like JJ Watt is playing in a losing team.
Indy are not much better off. At this point, any of three could start under centre. Andrew Luck is the most likely coming back from a shoulder injury. The ancient Matt Hasslebeck struggled last Sunday and has injury issues of his own and I haven’t even heard of the third guy!
Expect the Colts to do everything possible to start Luck. The issues are not confined to the QB position. Defence is better than expected but still not great and the recruitment of Frank Gore in the backfield has not gone as well as hoped. Frank Gore has issues with keeping hold of the ball, turning it over twice in the Red Zone alone.
We really cannot expect a classic here and I am going to be cautious in such a scrappy encounter. TY Hilton has 294 yards in four games and zero touchdowns. 70 yards may be quite a high line.
DeAndre Hopkins for Houston has had his line set at 100.5 yards. That is incredibly high when you have a bad Quarterback and look like handing the ball to Foster 25-30 times. We'll back Hopkins to go under at 10/11 with SkyBet.
Indy have a very bad habit of turning the ball over this season and they are 5/4 (William Hill) for Most Turnovers in a game that could see quite a few.
Best Bets
Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans – DeAndre Hopkins Under 100.5 Receiving Yards (10/11 SkyBet)
Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans – Indianapolis Colts Most Turnovers (5/4 William Hill)
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