St. Louis Battlehawks at Houston Roughnecks odds, picks and predictions

The St. Louis Battlehawks (4-2) visit the Houston Roughnecks (4-2) Sunday in Week 7 XFL action at TDECU Stadium in Houston. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET (ESPN/ESPN+). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Battlehawks vs. Roughnecks odds, and make our expert XFL picks, predictions and bets.

The Battlehawks posted a 29-6 win at Vegas last week as a 3-point favorite, bouncing back from a loss at home to the undefeated DC Defenders in Week 5. St. Louis has alternated losses and wins against the spread (ATS) in each of the first 6 weeks.

QB A.J. McCarron has completed an XFL-best 67.5% of his pass attempts while posting 1,322 yards with a league-best 14 TD and 4 INT through 6 games. It isn’t all great for McCarron, though, as he has been sacked an XFL-most 20 times.

While the offense gets a lot of the headlines, the defense has allowed just 12.5 points per game (PPG) in its 4 games against all teams other than DC.

The Roughnecks started out 4-0 SU and ATS, but it has dropped the last 2 games at Seattle and DC, going 0-2 ATS while allowing 29.0 PPG. Houston made headlines signing former Los Angeles Chargers WR Michael Bandy this week, looking to boost the offense.

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Battlehawks at Roughnecks odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:31 a.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): Battlehawks +130 (bet $100 to win $130) | Roughnecks -155 (bet $155 to win $100)
Against the spread (ATS): Battlehawks +3 (-110) | Roughnecks -3 (-110)
Over/Under (O/U): 44.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

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Battlehawks at Roughnecks key injuries

Battlehawks

None

Roughnecks

S AJ Hendy (groin) questionable
CB Raleigh Texada (back) questionable
EDGE Tim Ward (shoulder) quetionable

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Battlehawks at Roughnecks picks and predictions

Prediction

Battlehawks 25, Roughnecks 22

Moneyline

The BATTLEHAWKS (+130) are a solid play on the road, as this offense is really humming. McCarron is solid, especially on the off chance he actually gets protection, and the defense is on a roll, too.

There have been some rumblings that the Roughnecks (-155) could potentially change up the QB position, even though Brandon Silvers has completed 61.8% of his passes for 1,300 yards, 11 TD and 5 INT. That’s because of the 2-game losing streak, and the fact QB Cole McDonald provided a spark last week in DC. Stay tuned.

Against the spread

The BATTLEHAWKS +3 (-110) are worth playing if you don’t trust them straight up. It will be especially solid if you can catch St. Louis with 3 and the hook at some point before kickoff.

The Roughnecks -3 (-110) opened 4-0 ATS, but they have failed to cover the last 2 games, yielding 29.0 PPG in the process. Facing the pass-happy Battlehawks will be bad news for the Houston defense.

Over/Under

The OVER 44.5 (-110) is quite a high number. In fact, it’s the 2nd-highest total this season in the XFL. Both of these teams are 3-3 on totals, so there isn’t much to glean there. But McCarron has had a great season, helping the team roll up 20 or more points in 5 straight games, and Houston has allowed 29.0 PPG in the last 2 outings.

We might not get into the 50’s in this Week 7 clash, but high 40’s is a very good possibility as the XFL wraps up the week with a good game on Sunday.

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