Seahawks at Texans preview: Seattle looking for consecutive wins for first time all season

The Seattle Seahawks (-8.5) (4-8) are headed down south to take on the floundering Houston Texans (+8.5) (2-10). Coming off of a big win over their division rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, Russell Wilson will look to lead his team to another victory in a season that has been marred by injuries and generally inconsistent play. Regardless, the Seahawks are not technically eliminated from playoff contention at this moment, though they are quite the longshot at this point to do so according to DraftKings (+1000).

The Seahawks open as 8.5-point favorites, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. For a team that has disappointed as much as Seattle has, they still have moments of looking like true contenders, though these are few and far between. They will need to look to get their depleted corps of running backs going, as Rashaad Penny stepped up last week and longtime legend/first time Seahawk Adrian Peterson managed to tack on a touchdown during an otherwise largely inefficient day (11 carries for 16 yards).

Now, I don’t want to alarm anyone, but the following statement is entirely true:

The Houston Texans, on the other hand, are coming off yet another loss, with their only victories coming against divisional rivals and similarly ailing Jacksonville Jaguars and most recently, the Tennessee Titans, as mentioned above. In addition to this, they have struggled to remain competitive in defeat, as only three of their ten losses were decided by one score or less. As expected, their -159 point differential seems about accurate for how 2021 has gone for the organization. They have also failed to score twice and have been held out of the end zone four times overall.

The Texans are terrible against the run, but have actually remained somewhat aggressive against the pass. They have allowed a solid 89.7 passer rating, and rank 9th overall in adjusted DVOA on defense, according to Football Outsiders. This could spell trouble for a Seahawks team that has once again seen its committee of running backs dwindling as they succumb to attrition. The Texans also roster one of the league’s up-and-coming pass rushers, as second year player and former third round selection Jonathan Greenard has amassed 8 sacks and 24 pressures on the season so far.

The over/under is currently set at 41. The Seahawks and Texans have hit the under a combined 17 times this season, with both teams struggling to consistently put points on the board. Houston’s league-worst 13.7 points per game combined with Seattle’s bottom-half 19.9 ppg, and this is hardly a mystery. The Seahawks have been even on home/away wins and losses this year, going 2-4 both at Lumen and on the road. The Texans have done similarly, if a bit worse, going 1-5 both at home and as visitors.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.