James Kenney/Associated Press

Two teams still searching for their first win of the 2018 season will square off in Houston on Sunday when the Texans (0-2) host the New York Giants (0-2) as home favorites at the sportsbooks. Houston will be playing its home opener after losing its first two on the road by a combined 10 points while New York has been outscored 40-28 so far this season.

NFL point spread: The Texans opened as 3.5-point favorites; the total was 42 early in the week, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

NFL betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 28.0-12.5 Texans (NFL picks on every game)

Check out the OddsShark podcast on iTunes or at OddsShark.libsyn.com for more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news.

Why the Giants can cover the spread

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The good news for the Giants is that they have yet to give up more than 20 points this year. Of course, the bad news is that they have not scored more than 15 points yet either, something they hope will change this week against a suspect Texans defense which has surrendered 47 through the first two games.

New York will spend lots of time looking at film leading up to this game to see how the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans defeated Houston, the latter doing so with backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert. If Gabbert can beat the Texans, so can Eli Manning and the Giants.

Why the Texans can cover the spread

Houston has played each of its first two opponents tough and will be happy to be back home where the team performed better a year ago.

The Texans closed as three-point road favorites last week in a 20-17 loss to the Titans, as Tennessee kicker Ryan Succop kicked the game-winning field goal with a minute remaining. Houston had rallied from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit by scoring 17 unanswered points before Succop won it.

The Texans dug themselves early holes against the Patriots and Titans, and scoring first could go a long way toward helping them secure their first victory of the season.

Smart betting pick

New York has won the past three meetings with Houston, according to the OddsShark NFL Database, and done so by an average of nearly 14 points. However, that trend seems highly unlikely to continue here considering the offensive struggles of the Giants, who have scored a total of two touchdowns this year, with neither of them coming before the fourth quarter.

Look for the Texans to end their eight-game losing streak in style, covering the spread with an easy double-digit win in front of the home crowd.

NFL betting trends

The total has gone under in three of the Giants' last four games vs the Texans.

The total has gone under in nine of the Texans' last 10 games in September.

The Giants are 0-6 SU and 1-5 ATS in their last six games on the road vs teams with losing records.

All NFL odds and betting trends according to Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can also download the free odds tracker app.