Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens odds, picks and predictions

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The Houston Texans (0-0) are on the road in Week 1 to face the Baltimore Ravens (0-0) on Sunday afternoon. Kickoff at M&T Bank Stadium is 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Texans vs. Ravens odds, and make our expert NFL picks and predictions.

Baltimore inked their franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson to a long-term deal and surrounded him with his best collection of wide receivers in his career this offseason. The pressure is now squarely on the shoulders of Jackson to take his Ravens on a deep playoff run. That starts with what should be a dominating performance against a team that won 3 games in 2022.

The Texans begin the DeMeco Ryans era in Houston Sunday in Baltimore. They also debut their prized rookie QB C.J. Stroud on the road in a hostile environment. Houston could be a dangerous team to bet against in this game being that they have no expectations to win. They also bolstered their defense in the draft adding a gamer changer in LB Will Anderson Jr. This team could scare some better teams this season.

The Ravens were 4-7-1 against the spread before losing Jackson to a season-ending injury last year. Houston was 3-13-1 against the spread last year with an average scoring margin of -7.7 points per game. Baltimore covered the -7.5 spread against the Texans in their last head-to-head meeting on September 20, 2020. The game also went under the 49.5 total as well.

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Texans at Ravens odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday at 9:15 a.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): Texans +350 (bet $100 to win $350) | Ravens -450 (bet $450 to win $100)
Against the spread (ATS): Texans +9.5 (-110) | Ravens -9.5 (-110)
Over/Under (O/U): 43.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

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Texans at Ravens key injuries

Texans

WR John Metchie III (hamstring) out
RB Dare Ogunbowale (hamstring) questionable
S Jimmie Ward (hip) out
LB Blake Cashman (hamstring) out

Ravens

TE Mark Andrews (quadriceps) questionable
CB Marlon Humphrey (foot) out

Texans at Ravens picks and predictions

Prediction

Ravens 20, Texans 13

Moneyline

PASS.

The Ravens will win this game, but no way am I going to take them at -300. It’s just not smart betting to ever put down 3 units to win 1, especially when it comes to the NFL.

Against the spread

BET TEXANS +9.5 (-110)

I believe this game will be tighter than most believe it will be. The Ravens won 5 of their 8 games at M&T Bank Stadium in 2022, which is solid, but in those 5 wins, their average margin of victory was just 4.8 points.

We all know the Ravens bring a solid defense to the field every season, but I was impressed with what the Texans did this offseason to improve their defense starting with the hire of DeMeco Ryans as their new head coach.

There is also a big unknown with this new Ravens offense under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Baltimore parted ways with Greg Roman, who brought that run-first attack, this is supposed to be a more downfield-attacking offense. Jackson did not play at all in the preseason, so we have no clue how well he’ll fit in this new system.

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Over/Under

BET UNDER 49.5 (-110)

For basically all the same reasons I listed above is why I like the under in this ballgame. We just don’t know what to expect from this new-look Ravens offense. You’ve also got a rookie quarterback making his debut on the road in a tough environment.

This has all the makings of a low-scoring game.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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