Texans vs. Chargers betting trends, picks: Matchup of struggling teams to make NFL history for wrong reasons

This page may contain affiliate links. If you click a link and sign up, make a deposit, place a wager, or make a trade, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Unwanted NFL history, at least for the two teams involved, will be made Sunday when the Texans visit the Chargers Nov 6, 2026 at 9:47 am ET • 4 min read Look, we all glance at car crashes if we drive by because we are inquisitive creatures, even when it comes to not-great things. And I'm a bit intrigued by one of the worst NFL games on Sunday's schedule when Houston (2-5) visits the Los Angeles Chargers (0-7). Pretty much everyone expected both teams to be AFC contenders just like they were last year, but it has been a disaster for each club. In fact, this matchup will make league history with just how dramatically each franchise has fallen on its face in 2026. Sign up to bet on NFL games using the BetMGM bonus code CBSSPORTS to get up to $1,500 in bonus bets:It's a 1 p.m. ET kick on CBS and clearly was the marquee game on our network back when the schedule came out. Houston is a 4.5-point favorite in the DraftKings NFL odd and the Texans are just getting hammered at 99% of the handle and 79% of the bets. On the small total of 40.5, 87% of the money and 54% of the bets are on the Under.This will mark the worst combined record (2-12) entering a matchup in Week 9 or later between teams both coming off playoff appearances in NFL history. Great pull, CBS research! The clubs were a combined 23-11 in the 2025 regular season. Both head coaches in DeMeco Ryans and Jim Harbaugh now seem on hot seats. One sportsbook released updated first NFL coach fired odds this week – this is the longest in a season we have gone without a firing since 2017 -- and Indianapolis' Shane Steichen is the -175 leader with Harbaugh at +800 and Ryans at +1200. Texans vs. Chargers same-game parlay Los Angeles alt +11.5Justin Herbert INTDraftKings SGP price: +140 (subject to change)Houston won at least 10 regular-season games each of the past three seasons and reached the Divisional Round of the playoffs. I thought the Texans might actually be better this year with some offseason moves, quarterback C.J. Stroud in a contract-eligible year and a return to health of players like promising wideout Tank Dell, who missed all of 2025.Oddsmakers listed the Texans at 9.5 wins entering the season (Over around -150) and they were -180 to make the playoffs, an implied probability of 64.3%. Now those numbers are 7.5 (Over -175) and +190 (implied probability of 34.5%). The SportsLine Projection Model gives the Texans a win total of 8.44 and a 30% playoff shot that jumps to 35.9% with a win – not a huge jump, as the model largely expects a Houston win. Stroud has been great after a disappointing 2025 season and is going to make major bank soon playing on his fourth-year rookie deal without an extension. It's not all on the usually terrific Houston defense this year, but a lot of it is: That unit is allowing 6.9 points per game more than last season (17.4 to 24.3). That's the worst such rise in the NFL.The Chargers are only the third team in the past 30 seasons to start 0-7 after making the playoffs along with the 1997 Colts and 2011 Colts. The '97 season was the year before Peyton Manning arrived, and he missed '11 with a neck injury. L.A. is the first club to start 0-7 with the sixth-shortest or better preseason Super Bowl odds since the 1978 BengalsWager on the NFL with the latest FanDuel promo code and get up to $200 in bonus bets:Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert hasn't missed a game. He has just been bad while making $52.5 million per season. Now, have injuries around Herbert affected things? No doubt about it, especially his offensive line. Amazingly, Herbert is the only quarterback in NFL history with an interception and multiple sacks taken in each of his team's first seven games. His 10 picks are seven more than he had in his 2024 breakout season and only three shy of last year's very good campaign. Herbert has all of five touchdown passes and none in the fourth quarter with six interceptions. He is the first quarterback ever to start 0-7 coming off a season in which he made a Pro Bowl and his team made the playoffs. And really the offense under first-year coordinator Mike McDaniel, the very highly regarded former Dolphins head coach, has been the issue. I mentioned the Texans' defense had the worst PPG rise in the league from last year. The Bolts have the biggest PPG drop offensively at minus-7.5 points (21.7 to 14.1).Many of L.A.'s futures odds in the preseason were very similar to Houston. Needless to say, the playoffs are not happening now and the updated win total is only 4.5. If you bet Under 9.5 in the summer, you could already cash Sunday with a loss. It would be the quickest team to clinch the Under for its win total since the 2020 Cowboys. One more insane statistic for Los Angeles: It is the first team with zero straight up and ATS wins (0-6-1 there) in its first seven since Washington in 1998. Maybe we should have seen this fade coming, especially with Herbert? It actually started in Week 17 last year when the Bolts lost at home, 20-17, to the Texans. Herbert then sat the meaningless regular-season finale but it didn't help at all as he was brutal in the wild card loss at New England. The Bolts are 0-10 SU and 0-9-1 ATS in their past 10 overall. Bet futures and more NFL picks at DraftKings, where new users get $200 in bonus bets and three free months of NBA League Pass after they spend $5+:I believe Harbaugh's team is broken, and the Bolts probably start selling ahead of the deadline so I do lean Houston coming off its bye week, even on the road. That said, I can get Bolts +11.5 at home cheaper than the Texans money line so I shall. L.A. isn't without talent, that's for sure. The SportsLine Projection Model has Houston winning 26-16. Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter.