Texans vs Seahawks Predictions, Picks & Best Bets for Monday Night Football Week 7

The Week 7 schedule wraps up with the Houston Texans visiting the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Monday, October 20.

While Houston flipped the script with consecutive wins leading into its bye week, my Texans vs. Seahawks predictions and NFL picks call for Seattle to cover the number on Monday Night Football.

Texans vs Seahawks prediction

Texans vs Seahawks Best bet: Seahawks -3 (-110)

The Seattle Seahawks have been a statistical darling through six games, and the two wins for the Houston Texans have come unimpressively against the 1-5 Tennessee Titans and Ravens, without star quarterback Lamar Jackson (hamstring).

Houston QB C.J. Stroud also threw for a pedestrian 6.7 yards per attempt and a 64.0% completion rate across the first three games, so his solid showings against the Titans and Ravens aren’t nearly as impressive.

On the opposite sideline, Seattle has received elite quarterback play from Sam Darnold.

He’s aired it out for a league-high 9.3 yards per attempt while ranking second in both PFF offense grade and passing grade. Add pacing the NFL in adjusted EPA per play, and it’s been an eye-popping start in The Emerald City for Darnold.

Quickly returning to Stroud and the Texans, the Houston offensive line is a concern. The Texans rank 22nd in pass block win rate and 31st in run block win rate, so I'm anticipating a solid Seattle stop unit to give Stroud and the Houston attack trouble. 

The Seahawks have allowed the sixth-fewest points per game to start the season, while ranking seventh in defensive DVOA and 11th in PFF defense grade, after all.

Finally, I’m happy to back the superior quarterback at home with this spread at the key number of 3 because Seattle -3.5 looms and has already been tested this week.

Texans vs Seahawks MNF same-game parlay

A huge reason Darnold has played so well is because of No. 1 wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The third-year wideout has caught 42 of 55 targets for 696 yards, and he’s topped this 84.5 total in five of six games. 

Smith-Njigba boasts a high-end 13.1 aDoT while garnering an elite 36.1% target share, too. 

In fact, his numbers look similar to the sterling statistics of teammate Cooper Kupp during his 2021 masterclass.

Playing second fiddle hasn’t been all bad for Kupp, though. The veteran has quietly caught 23 of 32 targets for 261 yards and 11.3 per reception on a healthy 21.3% target share.

I expect Darnold to lean on his two best receivers under the bright lights of Monday Night Football.

Texans vs Seahawks SGP

• Seahawks moneyline
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba Over 84.5 receiving yards
• Cooper Kupp Over 40.5 receiving yards

Our big-ticket SGP: X Marks the spot

Houston running back Woody Marks has led the backfield in snaps in consecutive weeks and has caught six of his nine targets for 96 yards for the season.

Texans vs Seahawks SGP

• Seahawks -3
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba Over 84.5 receiving yards
• Cooper Kupp Over 40.5 receiving yards
• Woody Marks Over 13.5 receiving yards

Texans vs Seahawks odds

• Spread: Texans +3 | Seahawks -3
• Moneyline: Texans +143 | Seahawks -162
• Over/Under: Over 42 | Under 42

Texans vs Seahawks betting trend to know

The Houston Texans have only hit the Over in 6 of their last 21 games (-9.40 Units / -41% ROI). Find more NFL betting trends for Texans vs. Seahawks.

How to watch Texans vs Seahawks

Texans vs Seahawks latest injuries

Texans vs Seahawks weather

Monitor gametime conditions with our live NFL weather info and learn how weather impacts NFL betting.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here