Thursday Night Football Week 9: Houston Texans @ New York Jets NFL Best Bets and Top Props

We got a good one last week for fantasy owners and gamblers on Thursday Night Football when the Los Angeles Rams knocked off the Minnesota Vikings.

This week our nightmare begins again as we are forced to watch the New York Jets on national television for what feels like the 13th time this season. The good news is we at least get to watch up-and-coming superstar quarterback C.J. Stroud try to ward off these bad omens.

So far this season, the Jets have been a cauldron of garbage which everyone but the national media could see coming from a mile away, while the Texans have continued to build off their resurgent 2023 campaign. However, Houston is pretty banged up, especially on offense, which could give the Jets' defense some hope of willing their team out of the shadow realm and into a rare victory.

Surely, the ghoulishly bad Aaron Rodgers-led offense will do whatever they can to derail the effort of their once-great defense. This should be a fun one unless, of course, you're a Jets fan, in which case your life as a football fan is an unrelenting chamber of horrors that eats away at your soul until you're a shell of the person you were once meant to be. Happy Halloween!

NFL Best Bets Week 9

Okay, enough with the Halloween theme. It's time to get focused and win some money.

The Texans have the advantage in this game on both sides of the ball. Joe Mixon and their dominant rushing attack is bad news for the Jets' defense which has struggled mightily against the run this season. Their pass defense is still strong but they have been abysmal on the ground. They are going to have a tough time slowing down the Houston offense. 

It may be a tough night for Stroud though, who will be without his top two pass-catchers with Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs both sidelined. He still has Tank Dell, but Dell will now be the focal point of a strong secondary garnering a ton of attention. It will be interesting to see how he performs as the top guy. Perhaps a glimpse at his eventual future which dynasty owners can take note of. 

On the other side of the ball, we don't expect much from the Jets. Rodgers is old, beat up, and well past his prime, and Davante Adams won't be long behind him in retirement. Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall are both young studs, but they are being held back by an incompetent franchise that can't put together a functional offense around them. You can throw rookie Braelon Allen into that conversation as well. Fantasy owners can only dream of what could be if they were ever accompanied by an offensive line that was capable of blocking and a serviceable starting quarterback who wasn't eligible for an AARP card. 

At the end of the day, the Jets' offense will struggle as they often do, while their defense collapses under the weight of having to win the game on their own. Stroud will also find a way to do enough even while short-handed to get the job done. Nevertheless, this one is going to be the Joe Mixon show.  

The Picks

Spread: Houston Texans +1.5 (-110)
Over/Under: Under 42 (-112)
Moneyline: Houston Texans (+105)

Player Props of the Night

Prop #1: Joe Mixon, Over 83.5 Rushing Yards (-115)

We have made it clear that we expect a huge game out of Mixon and specifically for him to dominate on the ground. His over/under scoring line is set at 83.5 rushing yards. You can also bump that number up to 90+ rushing yards and increase your odds to +120. It all depends on how much risk you're willing to take for a greater reward. In the four full games he has played this season, Mixon's lowest rushing yards total was 102.

Prop #2: Aaron Rodgers, Over 0.5 Interceptions (-115)

Despite not getting picked off last week, Rodgers has still thrown six interceptions in his last four games. The Texans' defense is seventh in the NFL in interceptions and will force bad throws from the gimpy old man all night long. This game will probably get ugly for the Jets' passing attack and the defense will come away with at least one pick. 

Prop #3: Joe Mixon, Anytime TD Scorer (-145)

While we have Mixon listed as an anytime TD scorer, we also wouldn't stop you if you wanted to bet him to score two TDs. The odds on him scoring two TDs is +400. He's going to have a monster game on the ground and you should put as many bets on him as you possibly can. In the four complete games he's played this season, Mixon has five TDs and found the end zone in every game.