Wild Card first look: Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans, odds and lines

Kevin Erickson | Staff Writer

The Cleveland Browns (11-6) and Houston Texans (10-7) meet Saturday for an AFC Wild Card Game at NRG Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC). Below, we look at Browns vs. Texans odds from FanDuel Sportsbook before making our expert NFL picks and predictions later in the week.

The Browns were locked into the AFC's No. 5 seed before their visit to Cincinnati in Week 18. So, they rested plenty of key starters and lost 31-14 as 7-point road underdogs -- the Over (36.5) easily hit. Prior to the defeat, Cleveland had won and covered 4 in a row, including a 36-22 victory at Houston in Week 16 as a 3-point favorite -- the Over (40) cashed there, too.

The Texans punched their 1st playoff ticket since 2019 with a 23-19 win at Indianapolis Saturday. Houston was a 1-point favorite and the O/U line was 47. It was the 2nd consecutive win for the Texans following the loss to the Browns. In the 2 victories, Houston averaged 24.5 points per game (PPG) and allowed just 11.0 PPG as the Under cashed in both outings.

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Browns at Texans odds

Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 5:48 a.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): Browns -148 (bet $148 to win $100) | Texans +126 (bet $100 to win $126)
Against the spread (ATS): Browns -2.5 (-120) | Texans +2.5 (-102)
Over/Under (O/U): 43.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)

2023 betting stats

ML: Browns 11-6 | Texans 10-7
ATS: Browns 11-6 | Texans 9-8
O/U: Browns 10-6-1 | Texans 6-11

Browns at Texans head-to-head

The Browns fired out to a 22-7 lead at halftime in their Week 16 meeting at the Texans. Cleveland led 36-7 with just over 6 minutes left before the Texans scored 2 late TDs for the final 36-22 score.

Cleveland has won 4 straight in this series dating back to November 2020, including victories at NRG Stadium in each of the past 2 meetings. However, the Texans are 7-2 ATS in the past 9 vs. the Browns. The Over is 2-1 in the past 3 head-to-head matchups.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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