The NFL Preseason is into its final week, meaning it’s time for one last tune-up before the real action kicks off in September. The schedule got started on Thursday, but football fans are in for a treat with a whopping nine games on deck for Friday night. The Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers both made the playoffs last season; tonight, they take the field at 7 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium.
Here’s a prediction and pick for Texans vs. Panthers in the NFL Preseason on Friday, courtesy of odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Texans vs. Panthers preview
The preseason really doesn’t mean all that much in the grand scheme of things, so it shouldn’t be used as a measuring stick for a team’s future performance. However, for the clubs themselves, there are reasons that these games do matter – especially with the final week of games serving as a final opportunity to evaluate talent, potentially deciding position battles and depth moves.
The Texans have played two games thus far, dropping both of them. The first was a 27-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers; the second was a 22-20 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Neither were performances to feel particularly good about, but no starters played in the first and relatively few suited up for the second. The defense certainly didn’t look like itself in either matchup given the nearly 400 yards allowed in both, and the offense underperformed as well with no more than 219 yards in either game.
Things may not get much better tonight. Head coach DeMeco Ryans said that no starters will play in the final preseason matchup as the team rests its key players and puts the depth to the test one more time. Even backup quarterback Davis Mills is unlikely to play, so veteran Brett Rypien should see the majority of snaps under center tonight after going 6-for-10 for 44 yards and a pick in his last showing. Tight end Marlin Klein is a player to keep an eye on after leading the team in receiving yards in both preseason contests, while Noah Wittington and Owen Wright should battle for third-string halfback duties.
The Panthers have the advantage of an extra game under their belts after appearing in the Hall of Fame Game to kick off the NFL Preseason. They’re 2-1 now, a record that includes a 33-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals and a 34-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, though they fell to the Buffalo Bills 29-14 as well. The good news is that points haven’t been particularly hard to come by, but the bad news is that the defense has appeared a bit suspect to this point.
Earlier this week, head coach Dave Canales made it clear that his starters would not appear in this upcoming matchup. That means it’s a battle of the backups this evening, setting the stage for Kenny Pickett as the primary quarterback with Haynes King and/or Kyle Trask in relief. Pickett has been surprisingly efficient this preseason with a 39-for-55 line, 291 yards and two touchdowns, so one can do far worse if he’s the man under center. Trevor Etienne likely gets primary halfback duties alongside Anthony Tyus III. At receiver, things appear wide open – Jimmy Horn Jr. has gotten work along with John Metchie III, but plenty of names have caught some passes here.
Texans vs. Panthers prediction, pick
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Texans as a 1.5-point road favorite in this matchup with -121 odds to win on the Moneyline. The Panthers are a +101 home underdog with the game total set at 35.5 combined points.
To be clear, betting on NFL Preseason can prove very tricky. Established names don’t see much action, especially in the earlier weeks, and there’s much more variance in these games due to the roster shuffling and how deep of a player pool coaches draw from. Especially in the context of final roster cuts approaching in the coming days, that may ring even more true.
Houston’s reputation seems to be doing a lot of the work here, frankly. We think of a tough, hard-hitting defense with waves of pass rushers when the Texans are brought up, but the unit has been vulnerable through the first two weeks of preseason play. The offense also hasn’t seemed to gel, and with even Mills expected to sit the bench tonight alongside the starters, there’s relatively little to be excited about on that side of the ball as well. Now compare them to the Panthers, who have gotten some excellent play from Pickett and have a handful of fringe offensive names while also putting better play on display in a three-game sample.
Were this the regular season, I’d scream to the rafters that the Texans would win this game. However, the context rules all here. Carolina should be able to win this game outright, so I’m looking that direction on the Moneyline.
