Houston Texans @ St. Louis Rams
NFL Betting Odds: Texans -11
The Houston Texans will take on the St. Louis Rams this week in what should be a second straight cupcake matchup against an NFC West team. Last week, the Texans absolutely crushed the Seattle Seahawks and this week, they are likely to do the same to the Rams.
Things can’t get much worse for the Rams right now. Just days after being blown out by the Tennessee Titans and being forced to start their third string quarterback, the Rams were forced to cancel practice completely on Thursday because of a swine flu bug riddling the team.
Quarterback Kyle Boller and center Jason Brown were among the ill, which means the Rams will be even more shorthanded heading into this week’s contest.
The Texans are a very good, young team and while they have struggled to win important games this year, they have no problem winning when the pressure is off.
The Rams don’t have the defense to slow down the Texans and they don’t have the offense to score points with them. On top of that, the Rams are a completely defeated team at this point while the Texans have a small, outside chance to still make the playoffs.
Bet Mania Reviews Picks: Texans -11
Green Bay Packers @ Pittsburgh Steelers
NFL Betting Lines: Steelers -1.5
The Green Bay Packers will catch a break when they head out on the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers as they are expected to be without Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu once again.
The Steelers have been a completely different team with or without Polamalu in the lineup as indicated by their 13-6 loss to the feeble Cleveland Browns last week.
The Packers will still be in tough this week because this will be their second consecutive road game and the Steelers are still a tough team to beat at home. On top of that, the Steelers have had 10 days to prepare for this contest so they should be a little more focused and ready for this game.
The Packers also don’t have much of a running game, which makes them a tough team to trust when they are on the road. They constantly have to rely on the pass.
Look for the Steelers to bounce back and end their ugly five-game losing streak with a big win over the Packers.
NFL Prediction: Steelers -1.5
