New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans: NFL Week 13 Betting Odds and Picks

New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans
Sunday, 12/1/13, 1:00 PM EST
Opening Point Spread: New England -7
Current Betting Line: New England -7
Opening Total: 46
Current Total: 47.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

The New England Patriots are coming off a big win over the Denver Broncos

New England came back from a 24-point deficit to defeat the Denver Broncos 34-31 in overtime as 2.5-point home underdogs last Sunday night, which improved the team’s record to 8-3 on the season. The Patriots are now guaranteed to finish the season with a record of .500 or better for the 13th consecutive year—something to consider when looking over the pro football odds page. The franchise owns the NFL’s best December record since 2001 with a 45-6 mark. New England is 8-2 SU and 6-2-2 ATS as road favorites of 3.5 to 7 points the last two-plus seasons.

The Patriots are 3-1 during the regular season against the Texans with Tom Brady under center, who has thrown for 959 yards and eight touchdowns with three interceptions in those affairs. New England also owns an all-time record of 82-47-1 against the teams that make up the AFC South—the only division in which the team owns winning records against each representative. Brady needs 104 yards to reach 3,00 passing yards for the 11th time in his career.

Houston has lost nine games in a row, including a 13-6 setback to the Jacksonville Jaguars as 10.5-point home favorites in Week 12, while going UNDER the betting total for the first time in four contests. The Texans are certainly disappointed about their results this season, considering they posted a franchise-best 12-4 mark just a season ago—only to be eliminated in the divisional playoffs by the Patriots. Houston is 0-8 SU and 3-5 ATS as underdogs of 3.5 to 9.5 points since 2011, with no edge in terms of the betting total (4-4 Over/Under).

The Texans have a chance to get after Brady, as the Patriots have given up 31 sacks for a loss of 201 yards in 2013. Houston needs a big performance out of rookie signal-caller Case Keenum, who recorded a passer rating of 54.7 after going 18 of 34 for 169 yards and an interception against the Jaguars. Inconsistent play in the passing game has bogged down a potent running game—averaging 81.0 yards on the ground over the last three weeks.