Week 8 in the NFL brings us a strong 10-game Sunday main slate that includes teams such as the Rams, Chiefs, Packers, Bengals and Bucs. There are also some revenge narratives in the Thursday night tilt between the Dolphins and Texans (take the Texans minus the points) and a marquee Sunday night showdown in a rematch of last year’s epic NFC Championship game between the Saints and Vikings. It could be a crazy Week 8!
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Note: DVOA referenced in this article stands for Defense-adjusted Value Over Average which is a metric from FootballOutsiders.com.
So, let’s get right to the numbers and analysis…
Miami Dolphins @ Houston Texans
| Team | QB | RB | WR1 | WR2 | WR3 | TE | D | Vegas |
| Miami Dolphins | 45 | 34 | 30 | 69 | 49 | 50 | 49 | 45 |
| Houston Texans | 54 | 52 | 49 | 38 | 54 | 46 | 73 | -7.5 |
The Dolphins are coming off a home loss to the Lions and will travel to Houston to face the Texans on a short week. Brock Osweiler will remain under center for the Dolphins with Ryan Tannehill out to face a Texans pass defense that floats around the middle of the pack in most defensive categories including a 14th DVOA ranking. The Texans are vulnerable to pass-catching back around the goal line which could lead to a score for Kenyan Drake. With their banged up WR corps it could be TEs Mike Gesicki and Nick O’Leary who sees an increase in looks against the Texans 31st DVOA ranked defense against TEs this season. The Texans have been stout against the run this year with the top-ranked DVOA run defense that has allowed just 3.34 YPC (2nd) and 0.1 rushing TDs (2nd) per game to opposing RBs. Looks like an avoid spot for the Dolphins.
The Texans won their fourth straight game last week with a victory over the Jaguars and will come home on a short week to battle the Dolphins. The Dolphins have allowed plenty of big plays to the passing game this season as they have allowed 8.28 yards per attempt (29th) while giving up 15.2 yards per reception (31st) too opposing WRs. With Keke Coutee out, Will Fuller will benefit with some deep ball shots along with the steady play of DeAndre Hopkins. Lamar Miller is in a revenge game spot and is coming off his best game of the season with 100 rushing yards and a score. He’ll face a Dolphins run defense that was just gashed by the Lions last week and has allowed 4.96 YPC (28th) over the last five week to opposing RBs. The Texans defense should also perform against Osweiler on the road as they have 3.2 sacks (7th) and 2.0 turnovers (5th) per game over the last five weeks.
Hot Picks:
- Deshaun Watson (*)
- DeAndre Hopkins (*)
- Will Fuller (**)
- Lamar Miller (**)
- Texans D/ST (*)
