Although the Sunday Night Football matchup is going to be an awesome game between two playoff contenders, I need to get something off of my chest. The Texans are debuting yet another new jersey combination in this game, which makes 47 on the season. This isn’t the NBA, we don’t need to change our team colors and jersey combinations every week, especially for one of the newest franchises that still gets mistaken for the Oilers. Pick a lane Houston.

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Detroit Lions (-3.5) @ Houston Texans, O/U 48.5

The Texans and fantasy football community will be eagerly awaiting the news on if Nico Collins will return for this game. They originally had this week circled for his return from a hamstring injury, but his progress throughout the week at practice this week is giving everyone pause. 

So let’s handicap this one pessimistically. If he was completely healthy, they’d be activating him and giving him full reps at practice. Getting more than a field goal on the road against a playoff team is a lot of credit for Detroit, and I think they deserve it. Even with Collins in the lineup, Houston’s passing game has struggled and the offensive line is causing CJ Stroud to get sacked a ton. 

Pick: Detroit -3.5

What Will Houston Do Without Nico Collins?

Again, even if Collins is out there on Sunday Night, I’m not expecting him to be completely healthy. Houston is already without Stefon Diggs, and Tank Dell has pulled disappearing acts regularly throughout the season. I would expect Houston to play it big here and try to establish the run against Detroit. Explosive plays will be limited, and Detroit already stacks up well against rushing attacks.

The Lions bolster one of the best run games in the league as well. Houston is also in danger of missing reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson in this game, which will allow lanes to open up for the Lions in the run game. If both teams come out and try to run the ball, we may get a shortened game.

The only way for the Texans to win the ball game is to run the ball and keep it out of Detroit’s explosive offense. The Lions may attempt to get out to an early lead and stave off Houston’s struggling passing game by controlling time of possession as well. After what I project to be a day with a lot of points, we may be in for a Sunday Night Snoozer.

Pick: Under 48.5 Total Points