The Houston Texans and the New Orleans Saints will meet in week three of the pre-season on Saturday. Both the Texans and Saints made the playoffs a season ago. Houston won the AFC South, and are once again favorites this season. New Orleans went 13-3 and won the NFC South. Despite losing their head coach, and a couple key players – the Saints are the favorites over Atlanta, Carolina and Tampa Bay. The Texans are 2-0 in pre-season, while the Saints are 1-2.

For Houston, Gary Kubiak is excited to get his quarterback Matt Schaub back and healthy. Now for Arian Foster, if he stays healthy, Houston knows they have a dynamite offense. The Texans beat Carolina on the road in week 1 of the pre-season, and last week beat San Francisco. A season ago, Houston ranked as the third best defense against the pass, and fourth against the run. The Texans open the 2012 season on September 9^th at home against the Miami Dolphins.

For New Orleans, they are playing their fourth pre-season game, following their Hall of Fame game to start the season. The Saints beat Arizona in the opener, but since then have lost to New England and Jacksonville. New Orleans signed Drew Brees over the off-season, which solidifies their top ranked offense. Brees threw for over 5,400 yards a season ago, and 46 touchdowns. New Orleans opens the season on September 9^th at home with Washington.

Odds and Sports Betting Line

Houston Texans +3

New Orleans Saints -3

Free Prediction

This should be a pretty entertaining game. We expect many of the starters to get a bunch of time, as both teams prepare for their season opener. In the end, we expect the later groups of defenses to make the difference in the game. The Houston Texans have a better defense all around, which will help them with the win.

Prediction: Houston Texans 20-17

Free Pick:

It’s tough to pick against Drew Brees, but with it being a pre-season game, we know he cannot control the outcome completely. Look for Brees to play well, but then the Saints struggle when the starting group comes out. We are picking the Houston Texans to cover the 3 point spread, as underdogs.

Pick: Houston Texans +3