NFL Week 3 - Top Notch Texans can reach Mile High Pinnacle

We've been waiting to see our Super Bowl fancies the Houston Texans as a main game on TV & we get it this Sunday when they take on Denver, we've got that game covered plus an under points bet from another as we look to ramp it up in the 3rd week of NFL action. It was disappointing to see the Carolina Panthers so readily outpointed on Thursday night after we tipped them up before a major plunge on them throughout the day as the news of the Giants' injury problems filtered through, the Panthers rather froze under the big lights of national TV & look like to be a highly inconsistent lot.

Houston Texans @ Denver Broncos

We're big fans of the Texans here at Like Buying Money & were keen on their chances last year when they started the season at 25/1 for the Super Bowl, this year they were 12/1 & shorter but they've already contracted to odds of just 7/1 & are vying for favouritism with the San Francisco 49ers. They take on Peyton Manning & the Denver Broncos at altitude this Sunday & it's certainly a tougher challenge than their first two games but there's good reason to think they'll prevail up at the Mile High Stadium.

(Brian Cushing (56) & J.J. Watt (99) are two of the NFL's best young defenders)

It's easy to see why the rest of the world are becoming so sweet on the Texans as they are maybe the best balanced team in the league with a vastly improved defense, partly thanks to the great work of co-ordinator Wade Phillips & also some great young talent. On the offensive side of the ball Houston have arguably the best running back & wide receiver in the NFL in the form of Arian Foster & Andre Johnson respectively plus a solid offensive line that protect dependable passer Matt Schaub very nicely indeed. This season the Texans have allowed the fewest passing yards & points in the league (just 17) & taken 3 interceptions, forced 2 fumbles & sacked the opposition quarterback 6 times. Defensive end J.J. Watt has been exceptional so far with 3 sacks already & some reckon he's playing as well as any football player on either side of the ball right now. Peyton Manning had one of his wobbliest ever performances last week when throwing 4 picks against the Falcons last week & this is a much tougher defensive unit, he's proven to be strong mentally but he still has to prove he's back to full physical strength after a year out.

The Broncos are a talented team themselves especially defensively & we especially like Von Miller & Elvis Dumervil whom have laser tracking on opposition quarterbacks as they look to get sacks & put pressure on at all times. On the offensive side of the ball they have some decent receivers in Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker & tight end Jacob Tamme but no real star & we're still not wholly convinced veteran running back Willis McGahee can be depended on week in week out. Manning could struggle to pass the ball again this week against Houston's talented defense & an awful lot will fall on McGahee's shoulders, unfortunately their running game just can't match up to the awesome dual threat of the Texans' Foster & Tate combo. The Texans can move the ball on the ground & in the air & that makes them difficult to stop, they have little problem pounding it in down near the goal line & that means they'll get touchdowns where other teams may have to settle for field goals. With the Broncos having played on Monday night & having had a little less rest the Texans are an outstanding price to win at odds of 5/6 with William Hill even though they are on the road.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Arizona Cardinals

There is a really interesting matchup out in the desert as the Philadelphia Eagles travel to face the Arizona Cardinals who shocked the Patriots in Foxborough last week, adding spice to the game is the fact that ex-Eagle Kevin Kolb will be starting at quarterback for the Cards.

(Defensive back & kick return specialist Patrick Peterson is the Cardinal's young star)

The Cardinals have been seen as one of the weaker teams around even though they reached the 2008 Super Bowl but they put in a really nice run in the latter part of last season winning 7 of their last 9 & they've narrowly won both of their games this season thanks in large part to a defense that doesn't give up too many points, tending to restrict opponents to field goals - they've restricted their opponents to two touchdowns or less in their last 11 games. We can't say we're too keen on Arizona's offense which ranks 28th & 30th in rushing & passing respectively & their running has been awful in yards per carry with Beanie Wells gaining 2.8 yards per attempt & Ryan Williams just 1.2, that should just mean they stay even more determined to keep this tight & low scoring. The Eagles are pretty good defensively too & can slow teams down & generate turnovers, their road games also tend to be pretty low scoring with only one of their last 6 away games going over today's betting points total. Totesport are going 43.5 for the total points & that looks big as other firms are going 42, this could be a really tense affair & with Michael Vick still not firing at QB for the Eagles this may be the lowest points total this week.

Selections:
Houston Texans to beat Denver Broncos at 5/6 (William Hill)
Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals to go under 43.5 total points at 10/11 (Totesport)