Houston Texans vs Pittsburgh Steelers Prediction, 8/9/2024 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Preseason Week 1

Game: Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers

Date: Friday, August 9, 2024

Location: Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: NFL+

Odds/Point Spread: Steelers (-1)

Total/Over-Under: 36

Acrisure Stadium is the site where the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7 last season) will attempt to defeat the Houston Texans (10-7 last year) on Friday. Pittsburgh opens this contest as 1-point favorites from oddsmakers. The total is 36.

The Houston Texans finished the year having earned a 10-7 record. The last time they stepped on the gridiron, the Texans went up against the Ravens and took a loss by a score of 34-10. C.J. Stroud finished 19/33 with 175 yds through the air. He had a quarterback rating of 72.2 and ended the contest with no interceptions. Devin Singletary was the leader on the ground for the Texans with 9 carries for 22 yds (2.4 yds per carry). Nico Collins had an average of 13.6 yards per catch by accumulating 68 yds on 5 receptions. The Houston Texans ended up rushing 14 different times and totaled 38 yards, earning them an average of 2.7 yards per tote. When the final whistle blew, they had 47 plays for 213 yds. Houston conceded 16 pass completions on 22 attempts for a total of 123 yards, and a completion rate of 72.7%. When it came to stopping the run, the Texans conceded 229 yds on 42 tries, which is an average of 5.5 yds per run surrendered.

The Texans earned 5,820 total yards over the course of last season. Houston accounted for 215 1st downs offensively, and they were flagged for 114 penalties for 937 yds. Houston earned 27 touchdowns through the air and 10 rushing touchdowns. They turned the ball over 14 different times (8 picks and 6 fumbles). As a team they averaged 96.9 yards rushing, which had them sitting 22nd in the league. When talking about scoring points, the Houston Texans held an average of 22.2 PPG.

The Texans sat in 11th in the NFL regarding the opposition scoring, conceding 20.8 PPG. They allowed 3.5 yards per rushing attempt and 96.6 rushing yards per contest last year. Overall, they gave up 1,643 yards on the ground in 17 games. Regarding passing yards, the Texans conceded 3,979 yards which had them ranked 23rd in the NFL. During their 17 games played last year, they yielded 234.1 yards per outing through the air as well as surrendering a completion percentage of 67.6%. They allowed 330.7 yards per outing which put them 14th in the league.

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The Steelers wrapped up their season having a 10-7 record. The last time they stepped on the gridiron, the Steelers went home defeated by a final of 31-17 when they played the Bills. Jaylen Warren carried the rock 8 times for 38 yds, ending the game with 4.8 yards per attempt for Pittsburgh. Pat Freiermuth had the best day in terms of receiving for the Steelers, hauling in 5 passes for 76 yards (15.2 yards per reception). Mason Rudolph (2 touchdowns) ended the contest with 229 yds on 22/39 passing while his QB rating was 80. He threw 1 pick and his avg yards per attempt was 5.9 yards. Pittsburgh relinquished 34 run attempts for 179 yards (5.3 yds per rush). The Steelers pass defense allowed a completion rate of 70.0%, relinquishing 189 yds on 21 for 30 through the air. The Steelers finished the contest with 324 yds while they ran 63 plays (5.1 yds per play). Pittsburgh ran for 4.6 yards per carry, finishing with 106 yds on 23 carries.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had an average of 304.3 yards/game ranking them 25th in the league. They averaged 118.2 yards per game via the rush and ran for 2,010 yards overall. They gave away 9 interceptions while conceding 7 fumbles and they recorded 153 1st downs. The Pittsburgh offense totaled 753 yards of penalties on 86 infractions, which ranked 27th in the NFL in terms of helping out the other team. Over the course of last year, the Steelers had a total of 3,163 yards via the pass as well as averaging 186.1 passing yards per contest, which had them ranked 25th in football. When it comes to how much they scored, the Steelers were 28th in the NFL holding an average of 17.9 points per game.

The Steelers surrendered 19.1 points per game, which had them ranked 6th of all teams in the NFL. They conceded 23 touchdowns via the pass in addition to 227.1 yards/contest, ranking them 17th in the league. Pittsburgh conceded a total of 1,956 rushing yards (115.1 yards per outing) as well as 9 touchdowns via the rush over the course of last season. The Steelers defense took the field for 1,074 plays, which was good for 14th in the NFL. Their defense had 27 takeaways (11 fumbles and 16 picks) over the course of last year. Last year, they allowed 324 total points.

Who will win tonight's Texans/Steelers NFL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Texans +1

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