Preview: New Orleans at Houston
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 29, 2015
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
The Houston Texans are winners of three straight on the back of a dominating defense but face a high-powered offense on Sunday when the New Orleans Saints visit. The Saints switched defensive coordinators during their off week and hope the change can deliver a boost to a defense surrendering an NFL-high 31.5 points.
New Orleans fired boisterous defensive coordinator Rob Ryan after an embarrassing 47-14 loss at Washington in Week 10 and replaced him with Dennis Allen. “Anytime there’s a change midseason, whether it’s a coach or players at different positions or whatever it might be, I’ve been a part of many teams where something like this tends to shake things up,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees told the team’s website. “I know this, whatever is done is in the best interest of our team and the success of the team.” New Orleans can only hope its post-bye experience is as strong as the Texans, who knocked off then-undefeated Cincinnati on the road following their open date and moved to .500 with last week’s 24-17 victory over the New York Jets. Houston has allowed a total of 29 points during its winning streak and is tied for first place in the AFC South with the Indianapolis Colts, who own the tiebreaker.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX.
LINE: Texans -3. O/U: 47.5
ABOUT THE SAINTS (4-6): New Orleans coach Sean Payton gave his players an entire week off and is hoping for a change from the squad that dropped an overtime decision at home to Tennessee before getting crushed in Washington “We came in and lost to Tennessee, which was a complete blunder on our part, and we’ve lost two in a row and now we’re sitting at 4-6,” defensive end Cameron Jordan told reporters. “There’s nothing to be happy about, and at the same time guys know sticking together as a family, and that’s where we are right now.” The Saints try to lean on an offense that ranks second in the NFL with an average of 414.5 yards.
ABOUT THE TEXANS (5-5): Houston dropped five of its first seven games while averaging 28.4 points allowed, culminating in a 44-26 loss at Miami in Week 7, before turning things around in the last three games. “We weren’t tackling very well, so we’re tackling now,” star defensive end J.J. Watt told reporters. “We’re just playing the way we’re supposed to be playing.” The Texans will get a major piece back on offense this week with quarterback Brian Hoyer expected to resume his starting role after missing last week because of a concussion.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins has four TD receptions in the last three games.
2. New Orleans WR Brandin Cooks has five TD catches in the last three contests.
3. Watt recorded 7.5 of his league-leading 11.5 sacks in the last four games.
PREDICTION: Texans 28, Saints 24