MNF Texans at Cowboys Odds & Expert Picks for Week 11

Not that there is much doubt which team is better this season, but bragging rights in the Lone Star State are up for grabs on MNF to conclude Week 11 as the AFC South-leading Houston visit the massively disappointing Dallas, who are TD underdogs on the NFL odds.

MNF Texans at Cowboys Odds: 2024 NFL Expert Analysi in Week 11

Opening Lines Subject to Change: Texans -7 (total 41.5)
Expert Prediction: Texans 27, Cowboys 20

Houston Texans MNF Line -360

Houston lost for the third time in four games last Sunday and for the first time at home this season, 26-23, to Detroit after blowing a 23-7 third-quarter lead. Lions QB Jared Goff had five picks as the Texans became only the second team since 1970 to pick off at least five passes in a game and lead by at least 15 points and still lose. Jake Bates won it on a 52-yard field goal as time expired. The Lions became the first team to win when throwing five or more interceptions since Atlanta beat Arizona 23-19 on Nov. 18, 2012, when Matt Ryan was picked off five times.

Our defense is tied for 4th in the NFL with 18 takeaways through 10 weeks pic.twitter.com/4oyU7XSzel
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) November 16, 2024

CJ Stroud

Houston’s Stroud completed 19 of 33 passes for 232 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the loss. Stroud was in complete control in the first half, and his form was on display during Houston’s final drive before halftime, when he went 4-for-6 for 66 yards and a 15-yard touchdown. However, he struggled in the final two quarters, when he went 5-for-13 for 68 yards and a pair of picks. Stroud has now failed to record multiple touchdowns in four consecutive games while topping 250 passing yards just once in that span.

Joe Mixon

Mixon rushed the ball 25 times for 46 yards and a touchdown, adding two receptions on four targets for 44 yards. While he was bottled up thereafter, Mixon has found the end zone in all but one game this season. Tank Dell recorded five receptions on nine targets for 39 yards. Dell had another game as the Texans’ top pass-catching option with Nico Collins (hamstring) sidelined for another week. However, Dell failed to convert his opportunity, turning in a long reception of just 13 yards while also recording only one reception across the final two quarters. Overall, he has held below 50 receiving yards in six of nine contests.

Nico Collins

Collins will return on Monday for the first time since Week 5. He came off injured reserve and practiced last Friday ahead of Houston’s matchup against the Lions but didn’t play. Through the first five weeks, Collins led the NFL in receiving yards (567), and Stroud benefitted from his presence, ranking third in passing yards (1,385), tied for 10th in touchdowns (seven) and 10th in QBR (66.2). But since Collins’ injury, Stroud’s production has tailed off. He ranks 17th in yards (986), tied for 19th in touchdowns (5) and 25th in QBR (41.3).

Stroud has seen pressure on 41.5% of his dropbacks, the highest of any QB this season, and there likely won’t be a reprieve against the Cowboys considering their top-five 39.1% pressure percentage. Plugging the star wideout back into the formula doesn’t guarantee success — especially considering it’s changed with the loss of Diggs to a torn ACL since Collins has been gone — but getting the league leader in receiving yards per game (113.4) back certainly can’t hurt.

Will Anderson Jr.

Pass-rusher and reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Anderson Jr. was out against Detroit and will not play Monday. Defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi (foot) and tackle Blake Fisher (concussion) have been ruled out along with Anderson. Cornerbacks Kamari Lassiter (concussion) and Jeff Okudah (quad) both carry questionable designations into Monday night.

JOIN NOW

MNF Texans at Cowboys Odds provided by MyBookie

Dallas Cowboys MNF Line +270

The Texans are a decisive favorite on Monday night despite two glaring issues. QB CJ Stroud has been sacked 34 times, second in the NFL to Chicago‘s Caleb Williams (38) entering Week 11. Stroud is on a pace to be sacked 58 times. He was sacked 38 times as a rookie. And the Texans haven’t scored a second-half touchdown in five of their last six games, including the last four. They’ve scored only 15 points in the second half of the last four games.

The Streak

But the Cowboys have lost four straight overall and are winless at home this season following a 34-6 home defeat to Philadelphia last Sunday. That was Dallas’ first game since losing starting QB Dak Prescott to a season-ending injury and Cooper Rush really struggled. He managed just six points against the Eagles on 10 drives, eight of which lasted four plays or less. Rush lost two fumbles, and his 45 passing yards were the fewest by a QB with 20-plus attempts since 2015. Trey Lance took over in the fourth quarter and fared little better going 4 of 6 with a pick. Rush will start Monday but could have a short leash. The Texans have made life pretty uncomfortable for high level starting quarterbacks so Rush is going to have to stand up to the pressure and deliver into tight spots in zone coverage and against sticky man coverage.

Mike McCarthy

“I think Cooper has to get us in and out of the runs and passes and get us into the flow of the game,” coach McCarthy said. “You have to distribute the ball 53, 54, 55 times a game to your perimeter playmakers whether you’re handing it off or throwing it. We have to get back to that functionality on offense.”

The Stats

The Cowboys are 2nd to last in the league in rushing, averaging under 84 yards per game, but they have settled on Rico Dowdle, finally, as their featured back and that could help the Cowboys find some consistency in the run game. This past week, McCarthy revealed the team is no longer taking a running back-by-committee approach. Dowdle leads the Cowboys with 83 rushing attempts for 374 yards but has just one game of more than 12 carries (20 totes for 87 yards in a win over Pittsburgh).

Dallas must get a ground game going to have any chance to move the ball consistently. The Cowboys are averaging 19.7 PPG, 315.0 total YPG, 83.7 rush YPG and 2.0 giveaways per game in 2024, all worst in a season by the Cowboys since McCarthy became head coach in 2020.

Cowboys vs Texans Final Injury Report: CeeDee Lamb in doubt, 2 fringe starters out Week 11 https://t.co/DKl3Y6eRFi pic.twitter.com/OrNWy1C7LU
— TheCowboysWire (@TheCowboysWire) November 18, 2024

Injuries

Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin (shoulder) was a limited practice participant Saturday and is listed as questionable against the Texans. If he’s unable to play Monday, T.J. Bass would be in line to start at right guard. Pro Bowl cornerback DaRon Bland hasn’t played yet this season due to a foot injury and won’t debut Monday. Cornerback Jourdan Lewis injured his neck against the Eagles and is out. C.J. Goodwin is the top candidate to see snaps at slot corner Monday alongside Trevon Diggs and Caelen Carson.

How to Watch and Bet MNF Texans at Cowboys Odds

When: Monday, 8:15 PM ET
Where: AT&T Stadium
TV: ESPN
Stream Option: ESPN+

Texans vs Cowboys Series History

The Texas Governor’s Cup goes to the winner of this rivalry, which has only been played six times. Dallas leads 4-2 and won the last meeting 27-23 at home in December 2022. Dak Prescott directed a 98-yard drive that culminated in Ezekiel Elliott’s short touchdown run with 41 seconds remaining. That Dallas team was excellent and that Houston team was terrible. The Texans have never won in Big D.

Here’s how the playoff picture stands heading into Week 11 👀 pic.twitter.com/MQSqMx73Qf
— NFL on DAZN (@NFLonDAZN) November 14, 2024

Place your Bets anywhere, anytime by downloading the MyBookie APP

Previous Betting News | MyBookie News Archive

2022 Texans vs Cowboys, Week 14

It’s the Battle for Texas on Sunday at AT&T Stadium, as Jerry Jones’s Dallas Cowboys will host their in-state rivals, the Houston Texans.

These two NFL teams are heading in opposite directions, as the Cowboys are looking to win a Super Bowl while the Texans are looking at another year at the top of the draft board. We’ll see if Dallas can impose their win on the hapless Texans.

Let’s take a look at each team, and then we’ll give you our NFL Betting prediction for this all-Texas matchup.

The Battle for Texas in the NFL on Sunday | Houston Texans at Dallas

Houston Texans

It has been an NFL season to forget for the Houston Texans. Lovie Smith was hired to help turn the franchise around after all of the issues that had plagued the organization.

Even though their record is poor this season, they do have multiple draft picks from the Deshaun Watson trade that will help to speed up the rebuilding process. The one-win team has lost seven in a row, and now get to face one of the league’s hottest teams.

The offense is averaging just over 15 points per game. Kyle Allen was brought in to replace the struggling second-year quarterback Davis Mills. Allen has fared much better, throwing four interceptions in last week’s loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Dameon Pierce has been the lone bright spot for the Houston offense. He has established himself as Houston’s top back and has been the main source of their offense.

Even though Smith is a defensive coach, the Texans’ defense hasn’t been very strong this season. While the pass defense has been improving, the run defense is the worst in the league.

The Texans have given up over 2000 yards on the ground this season. We look for Dallas to exploit Houston’s poor run defense and then mix in a lot of play action to work over the secondary.

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas is one of the hottest teams in the league. Since Dak Prescott returned from injury, Dallas has been playing great football. The Cowboys have won three straight after decimating the Colts 54-19 on Sunday night. With Prescott leading the way, this offense has been tremendous.

Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott are running well, and Elliott looks like his old self. CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup have been a great receiving duo, and Dalton Schultz has emerged as a huge weapon in this high-powered offense.

Not only does Dallas have a great offense, but their defense is one of the best in the league. Dallas has a great secondary, and they’ve given up the least amount of yardage through the air in the league. You can run on Dallas, but this defense tends to get stronger when the opponent is in the red zone, so they’re very hard to score on.

Prediction

Houston is bad, but are they 17 points bad? That’s the spread in this one. Houston has failed to cover the betting spread in four of their last five NFL games, and even though it’s a rather large spread, we’re going to take the Cowboys to cover in this one.