We have Halloween night NFL action to kick off Week 9 -- the midway point of the regular season -- as the AFC South-leading Houston Texans (6-2) visit the desperate New York Jets (2-6), an overhyped team stuck in primetime for more two weeks in a row thanks to Aaron Rodgers. The Texans are down their two best receivers, which is why they are 1.5-point underdogs against a last-place team. The total is 42 and the weather looks good in East Rutherford, N.J.

Texans receiver Nico Collins had a career 2023 season with 80 catches for 1,297 yards and eight scores and was on his way to another monster campaign with 32 catches for 567 yards and three scores when he went down with a hamstring injury in Week 5. Collins remains on injured reserve but should be activated for Week 10. Fellow wideout Stefon Diggs, Houston's big offseason trade acquisition from Buffalo, suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Sunday's win over the Colts. The four-time Pro Bowler had at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of the past six seasons and ranks seventh in the NFL in catches (47) and second on the Texans in yards (496) behind Collins. 

Tank Dell will probably see a huge uptick in targets tonight from C.J. Stroud with Collins and Diggs sideliend. Dell is third on the Texans in routes run (214), receiving yards (229) and touchdowns (2) -- both TDs came after Collins went on injured reserve. It's possible the Texans still make a trade by Tuesday's deadline to replace Diggs, but most of the good receivers have already been moved with Carolina dealing Dionte Johnson to Baltimore on Tuesday. Houston already used draft capital to get Diggs. 

Of course, the Jets already made their big receiver trade in landing Davante Adams from the Raiders, but New York is 0-2 with Adams in the fold. He has seven catches for 84 yards and no TDs. The hope was that Adams' reunion with Rodgers would spur the four-time MVP quarterback, but Rodgers' five-game losing streak has tied a career high, and he looks very much his age at 40. At 2-6, the Jets are ahead of only Tennessee in the AFC and are +450 to reach the postseason. To quote former Saints coach Jim Mora: "Playoffs!? Playoffs!? Don't talk about—playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs!?!" Only three teams in NFL history have started 2-6 and made the playoffs, the last being Jacksonville in 2022. 

We'll take you through every aspect of the Texans-Jets game that you need to know before you lock in your bets, including SportsLine expert picks, props, trends, DFS, injury information and everything else that will help you know which plays are worth making for the primetime matchup.

Who wins Texans vs. Jets in the Week 9 Thursday night game, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine right now to see everything you need to know about the game in the Thursday night matchup to kick off Week 9 of the 2024 season!!