A pivotal AFC matchup with major implications on the line will take place this weekend as the Houston Texans prepare to go to battle for the New York Jets. It is about that time to check out our NFL odds series where our Texans-Jets prediction and pick will be revealed.

Fresh off a ginormous victory over the Denver Broncos last Sunday by a score of 22-17 in the final seconds of the game, the Houston Texans once again are making their case of being a bonafide contender entering the last month of the regular season. With the triumphant victory, the Texans now sit at 7-5 and currently possess a great chance to make the postseason for the first time since 2019.

Meanwhile, the dramatic saga of the 2023 New York Jets only continues as head coach Robert Saleh appears to be turning back to QB Zach Wilson for the start under center for this one. Currently entering this one with a 4-8 record and with their slim playoff hopes hanging in the balance, this matchup will prove to be as close to a must-win as possible for the Jets before they will be forced to start looking ahead to their offseason plans.

Here are the Texans-Jets NFL odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NFL Odds: Texans-Jets Odds

Houston Texans: -3.5 (-115)

New York Jets: +3.5 (-105)

Over: 33.5 (-105)

Under: 33.5 (-115)

How to Watch Texans vs. Jets Week 14

Time: 1:00 ET/10:00 PT

TV: CBS

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial), NFL Sunday Ticket if out-of-market

Why The Texans Could Cover The Spread

With a rookie head coach and quarterback, few experts of the game could've predicted just how competitive the Texans have been thus far in 2023. Not only has QB C.J. Stroud running away with the AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year award, but there are also murmurs around the league that he could potentially be in the running for MVP honors as well.

While a first-year player has never won NFL MVP, Stroud could make a tremendous case for it simply because of how important the former Ohio State Buckeye standout has been for this franchise. All together, Stroud has amassed the most passing yards in the league and has also only thrown five interceptions which is an exceptional statistic given that he is only a rookie. Without a doubt, the spread-covering chances that Houston possesses may solely fall on the shoulders of Mr. Stroud when the dust settles.

As it stands, the Texans have won four of their last five contests overall and a big reason for that has been due to

Since Houston was given and unfortunate blow to this high-octane passing attack with the loss of explosive rookie wideout Tank Dell breaking his fibula, keep your eyes peeled on explosive pass-catcher Nico Collins who put together a career-high 191 receiving yards on nine catches against formidable Denver secondary.

The biggest concern in this one is the Texans' inability to protect Stroud of late, as Houston's offensive line surrendered five sacks last Sunday. It his possible that Stroud is beginning to get banged up, and the last thing the Texans want is their face of the franchise to get injured for the most important stretch of the season coming up.

Why The Jets Could Cover The Spread

Ever since the infamous training camp reality show in Hard Knocks decided to follow the Jets prior to the start of the season, New York has been under the spotlight both in good and bad ways. The collective hype of this team came to as screeching halt when 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers went down with a devastating “season-ending” Achilles injury. While reports out of the Rodgers camp predicted that the future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer could miraculously return to play quarterback this season, the more the Jets continue to lose, the more that the likelihood of this happening goes out the window.

With multiple rumblings around the organization stating that Wilson was reluctant to take back the starting gig after getting benched a few weeks ago due to poor play, it appears those rumors were all but false.

Obviously, Wilson will need to bring his A game in this one, but it is rather encouraging that he will be squaring off with a Houston pass defense that hasn't been very flashy to say the least. Despite the Texans holding Russell Wilson to only 186 yards through the air a week ago, they are still surrendering the seven-most passing yards in the league at 245 per game. Could this be the a matchup that Wilson could exploit?

Above all else, the New York running game will need to do most of the damage offensively specifically with halfback Breece Hall. Although he has been a limited participant in practice this week thanks to a nagging ankle injury, Hall is the most explosive weapon on this offense outside of Garrett Wilson and New York desperately needs him to make some plays in the run-in g game for them to have a chance on Sunday.

Final Texans-Jets Prediction & Pick

Overall, can the Jets really be trusted to move the ball at a consistent rate and score enough points to keep up with the Texans? Most likely not. At the end of the day, Houston is a far better team than New York and it will show this weekend.

Final Texans-Jets Prediction & Pick: Texans -3.5 (-115)