Prior to the season, the Week 9 Thursday Night Football matchup between the Houston Texans and the New York Jets looked like one of the best TNF contests of the year.
With Houston coming off an outstanding 2023 for rookies C.J. Stroud at QB, Will Anderson at DE and first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans, the Texans were expected to compete for another AFC South crown and playoff appearance. So far this year, 6-2 Houston has not disappointed.
Back in August, the Jets also looked great on paper, as long as Aaron Rodgers could stay healthy. But while Rodgers hasn’t missed any time, nothing else has gone according to plan for 2-6 N.Y. This team has endured one close defeat after another following a lopsided season-opening loss to San Francisco.
We’ll break down how these teams match up in depth in a separate piece later this week. For right now, though, we’re tackling the best Texans vs. Jets ATTD bets ahead of the Week 9 Thursday nighter at 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
Tank Dell Anytime TD (+190) FanDuel
The case for Dell, who caught seven TDs in 11 games as a rookie third-rounder in 2023, starts with his recent uptick in red-zone production.
Since leading receiver Nico Collins went down in his team’s Week 5 win over Buffalo, Dell has caught two touchdowns in the last three weeks.
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Unfortunately for Dell — and the Houston receiver group as a whole — Texans RB Joe Mixon has been a TD-scoring machine this year, with five, including four in the last three weeks.
There’s no denying that Mixon’s efficiency near the goal line has meant fewer opportunities for this team’s pass-catchers. But when Stroud has looked to throw in the red zone, Dell has recently been one of his top options, with TD catches against the Patriots in Week 6 and the Colts in Week 8.
Also worth noting: last year, in Weeks 8-11, Dell caught a total of five touchdowns in four games. In fact, he recorded one score or more in every game as Houston won three of its last four matchups with him in the lineup before he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 11.
In addition to Dell being a solid bet right now against any defense, we also like this play because of the matchup in this contest.
Before we go any further, yes, we’re aware that the Jets have only allowed six passing TDs on the season (the third-fewest in the league).
Since firing Robert Saleh after a Week 5 loss to Minnesota, though, this secondary has allowed four passing touchdowns in the last three weeks, including two to Josh Allen and two to Russell Wilson.
This NYJ secondary can be beat, and with Dell as the de facto No. 1 WR while Collins and Diggs are sidelined, he offers excellent ATTD value at nearly 2-to-1.
Tank Dell Anytime TD (+190): 0.5 units
Braelon Allen Anytime TD (+420) FanDuel
For the Jets, top N.Y. weapons Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams are the first names that come to mind for anyone weighing an ATTD play on Gang Green.
But while Hall has dominated the backfield touches, his bruising rookie backup, Braelon Allen, is right on his heels in terms of TD production.
| Breece Hall | Braelon Allen | |
| Carries | 111 | 49 |
| Targets (Catches) | 46 (33) | 14 (9) |
| TDs (Rushing, Receiving) | 4 (3 rush, 1 rec.) | 3 (2 rush, 1 rec.) |
Despite Hall having well over twice as many touches (144 carries, receptions) as Allen (58 carries, receptions), the big man from Wisconsin has three TDs, including one last week. In fact, since Saleh’s firing and Todd Downing’s subsequent promotion to offensive coordinator, Hall and Allen have scored one rushing TD apiece.
As Hall’s fantasy owners throughout his career can attest, the speedy third-year back dominates the touches just about everywhere but inside the red zone. Despite an impressive career average of 4.6 yards per carry, Hall’s 414 rushing attempts over two-and-a-half seasons have resulted in just 12 TDs.
That’s a TD every 34.5 carries, while Allen is hitting paydirt once every 24.5 carries (over an admittedly small sample size).
For all those reasons, Hall is an irresistible ATTD dart throw at longer than 4-to-1 odds.
Braelon Allen Anytime TD (+420): 0.25 units
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