The Battle of Texas takes center stage on Monday Night Football with the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Houston Texans.
Things have gone from bad to worse for the Cowboys this season with the losses and injuries piling up.
My best Texans vs. Cowboys props for Monday Night Football expect the Cowboys to play from behind while the Texans run away with it.
Read on for my player props and NFL picks for Texans vs. Cowboys on Monday, November 18th.
Texans vs Cowboys MNF props
Joe Mixon Over 86.5 rushing yards (-113 at FanDuel)
Rico Dowdle Under 13.5 rushing attempts (-146 at FanDuel)- Cooper Rush Over 0.5 passing touchdowns (-136 at FanDuel)
Read full analysis of each pick.
Texans vs Cowboys MNF props
Prop bet #1: Joe Mixon Over 86.5 rushing yards
Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon is enjoying his first season in Houston. The former Bengal has racked up 655 rushing yards through seven games while missing three due to a high-ankle injury.
Mixon is coming off one of his worst performances of the season. He had just 46 yards on 25 carries last week against the Lions, but the Cowboys are a much easier opponent. They have the league’s second-worst rushing defense with 152.1 yards allowed per game.
The veteran running back has routinely gotten around 25 carries this season as his team’s undisputed number-one option. That should continue in a game where the Texans should be looking to run the clock in the second half.
Dallas could allow Mixon to get back over the century mark, which he reached in four straight games prior to last week’s dud. It may be worth looking at Mixon to reach 100+ yards at a nice plus-money price.
Prop bet #2: Rico Dowdle Under 13.5 rushing attempts
Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle has kind of come out of nowhere to be his team’s starter this season. Ezekiel Elliott got the start in Week 1 in his return to Dallas and then again in Week 8 while Dowdle was injured, but the 26-year-old back has gotten the bulk of the carries.
But there aren’t exactly a ton of carries to go around for this Cowboys offense that has been a pass-heavy one this season. That’s due to both how the team is built around Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb as well as Dallas playing from behind in seemingly every game.
It’s a bit curious as to why this line is set at 13.5. Dowdle has only had more than 12 carries once this season and that came in a Week 5 battle in Pittsburgh. That game was delayed to due weather which forced the teams to keep the ball on the ground.
He’s gotten up to that dozen carries mark in each of the last two weeks but it’s hard to imagine him getting more than that in a dome as seven-point underdogs.
Prop bet #3: Cooper Rush Over 0.5 passing touchdowns
Cooper Rush has taken over under center in Dallas with Prescott injured and he hasn’t exactly impressed. He went 13 for 25 for 115 yards and a touchdown after taking over for Prescott in Atlanta but was benched in the fourth quarter for Trey Lance last week against the Eagles.
While there’s always the possibility of Rush getting benched again, there’s a much better probability of him finding the end zone again.
The Texans have allowed a passing touchdown in all but one game this season. Even Drake Maye and Anthony Richardson (in two games) have thrown three touchdowns against them.
CeeDee Lamb is listed as questionable for Monday night, and his absence would hurt this prop, but Rush should be capable of finding the end zone. In 2022 when he started five games for the injured Prescott, Rush threw for a touchdown in four of those contests.
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