Kickoff: Sunday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Line: New England -3, Total: 44.5

Tom Brady and the suddenly human New England Patriots will travel to Houston for a showdown with former back-up Brian Hoyer and the Houston Texans on Sunday Night.

Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook betting preview for this matchup:

New England (10-2 SU, 5-4-3 ATS) dropped its 2nd straight following a 10-0 start, fell out of the top spot in the AFC, and failed to win ATS for the 4th straight week (0-3-1) in a 35-28 defeat at home against Philadelphia. The Patriots ran 28 more plays for 179 more total yards, but were undone by three non-offensive Eagles’ touchdowns (INT return, punt return, blocked punt return). New England could not hold a 14 point lead for the 2nd week in a row as the Eagles stormed back from the early deficit with 35 unanswered points, then held off a late Patriots rally for the win. New England suffered losses in consecutive games for the first time since 2012. Houston (6-6 SU & ATS) saw their four game winning streak end at the hands of Buffalo, 30-21. The team failed to cover the spread for the first time since Week 8, thanks in large part to 187 rushing yards from the Bills, the most allowed by the Texans since Week 8, and 2nd most overall this season. Historical and coaching trends heavily favor the Patriots, but quarterback play and recent results trend surprisingly even. New England is 170-130 ATS against the AFC and 157-121 ATS in all games after Week 4 since 1992. Bill Belichick is 118-84 ATS against the AFC, and 42-23 ATS following a loss as coach of the Patriots. At QB, Brady has the overwhelming experience factor, having started more games since the start of last season than Hoyer has in his career, but since the start of last season, Hoyer has gone 11-8-1 ATS in games started, compared with a 14-11-3 mark for Brady. Brady is 23-20 in his last 45 road games (two pushes), while Hoyer is 10-6 in his last 16 home games. The Patriots have also lost three straight road games ATS, while the Texans have won three straight home games ATS. Injuries are of minor note, at least for the Patriots, with DT Dominique Easley (ankle), DB Justin Coleman (hand), and Rob Gronkowski (knee) all questionable. Houston has a near clean bill of health, with the exception of G Brandon Brooks, questionable with an illness.

Monster offensive performances from both the Cardinals and Steelers knocked the Patriots back to 3rd in the league in total offense, despite New England adding two YPG to their season average against the Eagles. They eclipsed 400 total yards for the 7th time this season, thanks in large part to Brady’s 7th 300+ yard passing game of the season. Brady will be coming out angry in this meeting with Houston. He was furious after losing to the Broncos two weeks ago and that will only double after what happened against the Eagles last week. This offense will be looking to make a statement, but the Patriots must avoid turnovers and mistakes on special teams in order to win.

The Patriots will face their 2nd high-ranking pass defense in three weeks, as Houston has allowed just 218.3 passing YPG (3rd in the league), pacing a defense allowing 332.3 total YPG (7th in the league). The Texans are also 1st in the NFL in 3rd down conversion rate allowed, at just 28.7%, nearly 4% better than any other team in the league. Brian Hoyer will be looking forward to playing against his former team in this one and he gets to face the team at its most vulnerable point in the season. DeAndre Hopkins has caught 86 passes for 1,169 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, but he will draw a matchup with Malcolm Butler in this one. Hopkins must find a way to be productive if the Texans offense is going to put up enough points to come away with a victory on Sunday.