NFL Wild Card Weekend wraps up with a battle of AFC rivals as the Houston Texans visit the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night.
Pittsburgh earned the right to host this pivotal playoff game by virtue of winning the AFC North Division title, but the Texans are formidable foes and enter this contest on a nine-game winning streak.
Most online sportsbooks have the Texans listed as three-point road favourites with the game total set at a low 38 points.
Let Canada Sports Betting help you with your handicapping as we cook up a same game parlay for this exciting NFL playoff game. Our recommended same game parlay for this contest consists of three legs and nets a potential payout at +415 odds at bet365.
- Danielle Hunter to record a sack (-120)
- Alex Highsmith over 1.5 tackles (-170)
- Ka’imi Fairbairn over 7.5 kicking points (-130)
Greg’s Texans vs. Steelers SGP
Leg 1 – Danielle Hunter to record a sack (-120)
The low posted total of 38 points suggests oddsmakers believe this game is going to be a grind, and for good reason. Houston boasts an elite defence that ranks second in points allowed per game (17.4) while allowing the least total yards per contest (298.8).
Danielle Hunter is a major part of Houston’s vaunted defence, as the hulking defensive end ranked third in the league in sacks during the regular season with 15. He’s recorded at least one sack in four straight games and seven of his last 10, and you can bet he’s salivating at the prospect of taking down 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers, who is no longer a great scrambler in the pocket at his advanced age, on Monday night.
Rodgers was sacked 29 times during the regular season behind a solid Steelers offensive line, the 17th most among league quarterbacks.
Leg 2 – Alex Highsmith over 1.5 tackles (-170)
Highsmith posted 50 tackles (36 solo) and a team-high 9.5 sacks while appearing in 13 games for the Steelers this season. Although he missed some time with pectoral and ankle injuries, he still managed to reach the 50-tackle mark for the fourth time in his six pro seasons.
The linebacker has recorded two or more tackles in nine straight games while averaging 3.1 per game during that span, which means we’re getting good value on this prop at -170 (63% implied odds).
Highsmith excels as the starting strongside linebacker in Pittsburgh’s defensive scheme, with an emphasis on stopping the run and setting the edge. He should have no problem racking up at least two tackles in this expected smashmouth type of game with the Texans.
Leg 3 – Ka’imi Fairbairn over 7.5 kicking points (-130)
Houston’s kicker amassed a career-high 160 kicking points this season, as the Texans had one of the lowest red zone efficiency TD ratings in the league this year (just 46.3%), and kicked a ton of field goals as a result. He converted on 44 of his 48 field-goal attempts (91.7%), but more impressively, he went a perfect 35-for-35 on attempts from 49 yards or less.
Fairbairn has exceeded this betting line of 7.5 kicking points in nine straight games and in 12 of 15 (80%) this season, giving us excellent value on this player prop at 56.5% implied odds. He’s averaged a whopping 10.7 kicking points per game this season.
Winds are expected to be light at around 10 mph this evening in Pittsburgh, with temperatures around the freezing mark. That means Fairbairn shouldn’t be hampered by Mother Nature and should turn in another impressive kicking performance for the Texans.