Houston Texans at Denver Broncos 9/18/22 - NFL Picks & Predictions

The Denver Broncos host the Houston Texans on Sept. 18. The Broncos are 5-3 against the Texans, including a 38-24 win at Houston in 2019.

Russell Wilson’s first game at Seattle as a member of the visiting team Monday did not go well to say the least. Denver was a six-point favorite but lost 17-16 in excruciating fashion. Wilson completed 29 of 42 passes for 340 yards, but only one of those throws connected for a touchdown. First-year coach Nathaniel Hackett inexplicably decided to go away from Wilson with the game on the line and have Brandon McManus attempt a 64-yard field goal. Don’t expect that to happen again.

The Broncos looked their worst at the goal line, as back-to-back drives in the second quarter ended in fumbles on goal to go at the Seattle 1-yard line. Running back Melvin Gordon killed a 10-play, 78-yard drive with 7:42 remaining in the half. Seattle promptly gave the ball back with a fumble of its own two minutes later, but Denver again failed to cash in. This time it was Gordon’s backfield mate Javonte Williams who coughed it up as he tried to score from short.

Houston’s season opener went vastly better than Denver’s, but the Texans still came away disappointed. A seven-point underdog at home against Indianapolis, Houston looked on it’s way to victory with a 20-3 lead after three quarters. Seventeen unanswered fourth-quarter points by the Colts and a scoreless overtime left them with just a 20-20 tie.

Davis Mills had a fine performance, completing 23 of 37 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Brandon Cooks caught seven of those passes for 82 yards, but newly signed tight end O.J. Howard hauled in both scoring throws.

Despite the tie, Houston only had 299 yards on offense and gave up 517 on defense. Denver fared much better in a losing effort with 433 yards on offense and 253 yards allowed by the defense.