Clearly, Vegas does not expect the Texans to play any starters
Believe it or not, the Tennessee Titans have a lot more on the line in their week 18 matchup against the Houston Texans than the Texans do. Houston has already locked up the AFC South division title and cannot finish any higher or lower than the 4th seed. They have nothing to play for at Nissan Stadium next week.
The Titans, however, have a shot at the number one pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. It is still a long shot because even with a loss they would need a New England Patriots win over the Buffalo Bills. That is not as far fetched as it might seem on paper because the Bills are in a similar spot to the Texans having their division wrapped up and not being able to finish any higher or lower than the number two seed in the AFC.
With all of that in mind, the Titans opened as a 3-point favorite over the Texans. That line has since moved to Titans -4.5 at FanDuel Sportsbook. This feels like a game the Titans win and end up with something like the 6th pick in the draft, but this team has proven that they can look even worse than you thought possible. Hopefully, they aren’t up to the task of beating the Texans backs ups this week.