New England Patriots vs Houston Texans Prediction: Expect a competitive matchup

At Gillette Stadium on Friday, the first preseason game of the NFL season features a matchup between the Houston Texans and the New England Patriots. While the Patriots ended their previous season with a loss to the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans managed to squeak out a victory over the Indianapolis Colts. In the following, we will analyze the most essential aspects of this match and present you with various betting alternatives.

The New England Patriots should be motivated after missing the playoffs last year, and they haven't missed the postseason back-to-back years since 1999-2000. Mac Jones may be the name that everyone knows, but Bailey Zappe went 2-0 as a starter last year while completing 70.7 percent of his throws for 5 touchdowns and 781 yards. The Patriots may have a quarterback competition of their own, as Mac Jones may be the name that everybody knows. Jones's signing isn't a sure thing at this point after two years of erratic play, during which he threw 24 interceptions and scored 36 touchdowns. The Patriots don't currently have any noteworthy receivers on their roster, with the exception of the recently acquired JuJu Smith-Schuster. Someone needs to take the lead out of the three, consisting of Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, and DeVante Parker. Riley Reiff is the grizzly veteran of the group with ten years of experience under his belt; yet, Calvin Anderson started 12 games with Denver, and Conor McDermott held down the fort last year through six matches. The competition for the right tackle position for the Patriots is an important one. It should come as no surprise that the Patriots' offense, which finished the previous season ranked 17th in points and 26th in yards, is where the majority of the competition in training camp is taking place.

Due to the fact that the Houston Texans have finished with a winning record of four games or fewer in each of the last three seasons, there ought to be open competition across the board. The competition for the starting quarterback position between Davis Mills and the youngster C.J. Stroud is the most interesting aspect of the Texans' season. Mills has significantly more experience than his opponent and has thrown for 33 touchdowns during his career, but he also has a starting record of 5-19-1. Stroud is the glistening new toy that Ohio State has to offer, as he has won back-to-back Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year awards and has thrown for over 8,100 yards and 85 touchdowns in his career. After trading Brandin Cooks, the Texans brought in Robert Woods and picked Nathaniel Dell and Xavier Hutchinson, but they still need to find more offensive weapons for whoever ends up winning the quarterback job. Hassan Ridgeway is coming off his greatest season to date with the San Francisco 49ers, and the Houston Texans need to figure out their defensive line rotation to compete with him. The backbone of the defensive line for the Texans is Jerry Hughes, Will Anderson Jr., Johnathon Greenard, and Chase Winovinch, but Hassan Ridgeway is also a factor.

When it comes to preseason games, I have a tendency to favor the team that has a deeper quarterback situation. This is due to the fact that quarterback is the only position that has the ability to completely change the outcome of a game, and it is also much simpler to evaluate than the numerous rotations that occur at other positions. The Texans have the upper hand in this regard since Davis Mills is a veteran quarterback who is capable of starting and C.J. Stroud is an exciting young quarterback who is hungry to create a name for himself. Both competitors should perform at their highest level as a result of the competition. Both Bailey Zappe and Mac Jones are currently unknown factors and are most likely substitutes until it is established otherwise. In light of the fact that I currently have greater faith in the Texans' quarterback position, I will be leaning toward that team in this preseason pick.