Eagles vs. Texans odds, predictions: Bet on Philly to have big halftime lead in TNF

The Philadelphia Eagles approach the midpoint of the 2022-23 NFL season as the only team without a loss. The Houston Texans approach the midpoint of the campaign as one of just two teams with a single victory.

Philadelphia is led by a quarterback who has the league’s fifth-best passer rating and is a bona fide MVP candidate. Houston is led by a quarterback who has a bottom-10 passer rating and just three more touchdown passes than the Eagles scored four days ago.

Now you know a couple of reasons why Philadelphia heads into Thursday’s game in Houston as the biggest favorite on the Week 9 NFL odds board — and tied for the biggest favorite of the entire season. This despite playing on the road with a short week of preparation.

But are the Eagles too big of a favorite? Seems like it. Yet we’re still recommending laying points with one of the NFL’s best teams against one of the worst — just not double-digit points.

Here’s how we’re betting the Eagles vs. Texans Thursday Night Football clash.

Odds updated as of 1:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 2.

The Eagles may be perfect on the scoreboard, but from a wagering standpoint, they’re a little less than perfect (although 5-2 ATS is nothing to complain about). And even though Philadelphia really hasn’t had any down-to-the-wire close calls on the field (yet), only three of its seven victories have been by double digits.

Toss in the travel and short-week components, and you can see why we’re not a rush to lay two touchdowns with the Eagles — even against the pathetic Texans.

We do, however, think there’s value in a first-half wager on Philadelphia. A big reason why? The Eagles are, in fact, a perfect 7-0 ATS against the first-half number — thanks in large part to an offense that has come out of the gate firing on all cylinders much more often than not.

The first-half scoring breakdown for Nick Sirianni’s squad by week: 24-10 lead at Detroit; 24-7 lead vs. Minnesota; 24-0 lead at Washington; 20-14 lead vs. Jacksonville (after falling behind 14-0); 14-10 lead at Arizona; 20-3 lead vs. Dallas; 21-10 lead vs. Pittsburgh.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia Eagles odds: Unbeaten squad flying high in futures markets

Yep, Philadelphia has tallied at least 20 first-half points in six of seven games and allowed 10 points or fewer in six of seven.

How has Houston performed in the first half? Not bad, actually. The Texans have only been buried at halftime once (trailed 27-7 to the Chargers at home in Week 6). But look at Houston’s opponents this season:

Colts, Broncos, Bears, Chargers, Jaguars, Raiders and Titans. Of those squads, only Los Angeles (4-3) and Tennessee (5-2) have winning records.

We already mentioned how the Chargers ambushed the Texans in the first half. As for Tennessee, it started a rookie quarterback in Houston last week and he completed all of six passes in the entire game, yet the Titans still had a 7-3 halftime lead.

If there’s one concern about making this bet it’s that it might take the Eagles a bit of time to get ramped up against a Texans defense that has been decent (more than 24 points allowed in a game just once).

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Still, the favorite has covered the first-half number each of the five Thursday night contests. We’re betting on Philly to make that six in a row. Lay the points with the Eagles in the first half at FanDuel.

» READ MORE: Full sports betting coverage from The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.