The Saints and Texans close out the NFL preseason Sunday.
With the start of the NFL regular season just two weeks away, don’t expect to see many starters on the field.
New Orleans head coach Dennis Allen said his starters are unlikely to play, and Houston’s DeMeco Ryans expects his first unit to play roughly two series.
Ryans named rookie C.J. Stroud the starting quarterback this week, so he’ll get a couple of series with the first-string offense to get ready for Week 1. After that, the Texans will turn to Davis Mills and Case Keenum, two quarterbacks with starting experience fighting for the backup job.
Derek Carr won’t be playing for the Saints, but that means more time for promising rookie Jake Haener.
Veteran Jameis Winston will start but isn’t likely to play long, so Haener will be under center for most of the game. The fourth-round pick out of Fresno State has completed 62 percent of his passes for 223 yards this preseason.
The Saints’ first two preseason games produced 39 and 50 points. The Texans’ offense has put up just 23 total points in two games, but I think we will see a better effort Sunday.
Ryans wants his first-team offense to end the preseason on a high note and with the Saints’ quarterback combo of Winston and Haener, I like the game to go over this modest total.
The play: Saints-Texans Over 37.5 (-110, BetMGM)
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