Seahawks open as big road favorites over hapless Texans

The Seattle Seahawks (4-8) ended their three-game losing streak with a dramatic win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, and now the next step is to actually win consecutive games for the first time all season. Their next opponent? The 2-10 Houston Texans, the only team in the NFL already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Seahawks are a whopping 7.5-point favorite over the Texans, which is a big margin for a road team, let alone any team that is 4-8. They are the heaviest road favorites this week, with the New Orleans Saints somehow 6-point favorites against the New York Jets despite losing five straight.

The over/under is just 42.5 points, which Seahawks games hadn’t been hitting for weeks prior to the 49ers win. Even if Seattle has rediscovered some semblance of offense, the Texans haven’t scored more than 22 points since opening day against the Jacksonville Jaguars and they’ve been shutout twice. They have failed to score a touchdown in five games which is extraordinarily bad.

Seattle’s last trip to Houston in 2013 saw them rally from 20-3 down to memorably win 23-20 in overtime. That Texans team started 2-0 and didn’t win again after that, but did play a ridiculous number of one-score games against playoff teams. This year’s Texans team... isn’t as good. But the Seahawks can’t take any game for granted, especially when they’re pretty much a loss or two away from mathematical playoff elimination.

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