Texans vs. Jets where to watch: NFL kickoff time, live stream, odds, spread, prediction for Week 9 game

The New York Jets' season so far has been a disaster, but their 2024 season isn't quite off the rails just yet. The 2-6 Jets can still salvage their 2024 season, but they need a win in Thursday night's game against the Houston Texans to keep it alive.

New York is on a five-game losing streak, making it the longest losing streak Aaron Rodgers has ever had in his career. Rodgers has scored just 12 touchdowns in eight games, the fewest he has ever had in a season at this point in his Hall of Fame career. The passer rating of 85.1 through eight games is also the worst start for Rodgers.

CJ Stroud will make his Thursday Night Football debut, but the Texans will be limping on the wide receiver. Stefon Diggs is out for the season with a torn ACL and Nico Collins is on the injured list with a hamstring injury. Tank Dell, Robert Woods and Xavier Hutchinson will be the top wideouts for Houston for the foreseeable future.

Houston wants to extend its lead in the AFC South and keep up with the Kansas City Chiefs in the race for home-field advantage in the AFC. New York is just looking for a win to keep their season relevant. Here's our preview and sports betting prediction for the Thursday Night Football showdown.

Where to watch Texans at Jets

Aaron Rodgers' career on Thursday Night Football

This is clearly not the same version of Rodgers the NFL saw before he tore his Achilles tendon, yet Thursday is still one of Rodgers' favorite days of the week. For his career Thursday, Rodgers has completed 67% of his passes with 39 touchdowns to five interceptions and a passer rating of 106.5. Rodgers' teams are 12-5 and he has thrown for 262.6 yards per game.

Ironically, Rodgers' last win was on a Thursday. Rodgers completed 77.1% of his passes for 281 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions, for a passer rating of 118.9 – he looks like the Rodgers of old. The Jets quarterback has gone 30 straight games without throwing for more than 300 yards and 17 straight games with three or fewer passing touchdowns.

The Jets could use the “Thursday” version of Rodgers this week instead of the version they’ve gotten most of the year.

Texans wide receiver situation

The Texans will be without their two best wideouts, Nico Collins (hamstring) and Stefon Diggs (knee), which will be a big test for CJ Stroud in a short week. Tank Dell (24 catches, 229 yards, 2 TD) will be the best pass-catching option, followed by tight end Dalton Schultz (23 catches, 223 yards, 0 TD).

Robert Woods and Xavier Hutchinson have only 10 catches for 110 yards this season, but with the Texans depleted at wide receiver, there should be more scoring to come. The Texans can rely on the running game and Joe Mixon, who has 503 rushing yards in five games – the most of any player in franchise history in his first five games.

This will be a big test for the Texans' offense, especially since the passing game will be pitted against Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed this week. For Stroud, it may take some adjustment.

forecast

This isn't exactly the best way for either team to start a game on Thursday, making it difficult to predict a winner. The Jets are talented, but they're a chaotic mess that just suffered their worst loss of the year to the New England Patriots. The Texans just lost their No. 1 wide receiver (with Collins out), leaving their top two wideouts unavailable for the game.

The Texans' depth at wide receiver will be tested. In this game, the defense may need to get to Rodgers and test his mobility outside the pocket. As for the Jets, they need to play turnover-free football and actually get their running game going. New York ranks 29th in yards per carry (3.9) and 30th in rush yards per game (86.1).

It's hard to believe what the Jets are right now. Desperate teams are also dangerous. Choose: Texans 26, Jets 24

Bonus: SportsLine expert Eric Cohen is leaning toward New York in this Thursday night game. Find more Week 9 earnings predictions here at SportsLine.