Houston Texans vs. Denver Broncos Week 13: How to Watch, Betting Odds
The Texans host the Broncos on Sunday in a matchup between AFC playoff hopefuls. Denver has won five in a row and seems to have figured things out, with wins over the Chiefs and Bills in that stretch, while the Texans remain hot behind rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Houston coach DeMeco Ryans is impressed with the turnaround of the Broncos, who started the season 1-5.
“The biggest thing that I’ve seen from the Broncos and how they’ve turned things around is how their defense is attacking the football,” Ryans said. “When you take the ball away as many times as they have … you set the offense up, you set the team up for success. And that’s where it starts with these guys.”
It's the longest such streak for the Broncos, who have forced 15 turnovers in the past four contests.
“They say they come in bunches and man, they’ve been coming in bunches the last couple of weeks,” Denver safety Justin Simmons said.
“And for us we know that’s a huge key and a huge formula for us to find ways to win football games and we just need to keep that hot streak going, especially going up against a hot Houston team. Their offense is playing really well, their quarterback’s been doing a really good job. So, we’re going to need that to carry over this week in order to give us a chance to win.”
Part of the reason for the success of the Texans this season is the ability of Stroud to take care of the ball. The former Ohio State Buckeye ranks second in the league with 3,266 passing yards and has tallied 19 touchdowns to just five picks.
Three of those five came in one game - against the Cardinals - and Stroud says he's learned from that experience.
“This last game definitely showed my maturity, because they really took away all our deep shots, and I was running the ball, checking it down, trying to do my best just extending the play if I had to,” he said. “So, just taking steps and strides every week has definitely been a goal of mine, and I feel like I’ve done a decent job of that.”
Dalton Schultz OUT vs. Broncos
WHAT: Denver Broncos (6-5, 2-2 Road) at Houston Texans (6-5, 4-2 Home)
WHERE: NRG Stadium, Houston, TX (71,995)
WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023, 12 p.m. CT
TELEVISION: CBS / FuboTV (try it free)
RADIO: Sports Radio 610 (KILT-AM) | 100.3 The Bull
Get your tickets at SI Tickets
Betting via SI SportsBook
SPREAD: Texans -3.5
TOTAL: 47.5
MONEYLINE: Broncos +138, Texans -167