New England Patriots vs Houston Texans NFL Week 17 Predictions: While the (10-5) New England Patriots [+8] have already clinched the AFC East title, the hosting (8-7) Houston Texans [-8] would be happy with just finishing with a winning record for the first time in franchise history. But that’s not the only thing the Texans are playing for this late in the season, as believe it or not, Houston is still in the playoff hunt.
With everyone expecting the Patriots to rest their starters and prepare for the postseason, this would seem like the perfect time for the Texans to kill two birds with one stone. But, will Bill Belichick do what everyone — including NFL Week 17 Predictions experts — is expecting him to do?
But of the Texans are to sneak into the playoffs, they’re going to have to beat New England and hope top get some help from other unlikely sources. "I'm excited for our players," head coach Gary Kubiak said. "That's what you work for, to be sitting here with the last game of the season and we walk out of here Sunday it means everything to our team and it means having a winning record for the first time. There's just so much for us to play for."
Houston enters this final week playing some of its best football of the season. Winners of three in a row, the Texans cannot worry about what other teams are going to have to do in order for them to clinch. The most important part right now is to not have a let down on Sunday. The rest will take care of itself.
"We're going to have to beat the top franchise in football to get to that point," Kubiak added. "So it's a great challenge for us as coaches, as players, and I think that's the way it's supposed to be. If we want to get there some day, these are the types of people we've got to be able to compete against. So we've got to be as good as we can be this weekend."
So what’s it going to take for them to get in? Well, for starters they have to beat the Pats. Then, they’ll need two of the remaining three AFC Wild Card contending teams (New York, Baltimore, Denver) to lose. For those of you that are interested in betting on the OVER/UNDER, I can tell you that NFL Week 17 Betting Odds makers at BODOG.com have set it at a combined total of 46 points.
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