This week's Monday Night Football clash is a Texas special. The Houston Texans (6-4) will visit the Dallas Cowboys (3-6) on Monday, Nov. 18, at 8:15 p.m. ET.

Both of these teams have hit rough patches lately. Houston is 1-3 in its last four, while Dallas has lost four straight and will be without QB Dak Prescott for the remainder of the season.

How will this week's Monday Night Football action go down?

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm struggling to envision any way in which this will be a close game. The Cowboys are quite bad, and without Prescott, they'll be forced to lean more heavily on a rushing game that ranks 31st in total attempts, yards, and touchdowns.

The Texans aren't the team they were with Stefon Diggs, but they still have one of the game's elite, young quarterbacks in C.J. Stroud, and the impact of RB Joe Mixon can't be overstated. He'll be especially important this week against a Dallas defense that places among the NFL's worst against the run. Getting back Nico Collins is huge for Stroud.

The Cowboys seem content to stick with Cooper Rush at QB, and while we can expect him to look a bit better in the coming weeks as he settles into his new role, I'm not sure how much he moves the needle against Houston.

Dallas is likely to be overwhelmed in just about every regard on Monday Night Football. Expect the Texans to win comfortably.

MNF Score Prediction: Texans 27, Cowboys 13

Let’s get a sneak peek of my Week 11 MNF best bets.

MNF Pick Against the Spread: Texans -7 (-120) @ Cowboys

The Texans have made a habit of winning close games. Five of their six victories have been decided by six points or less, with the lone exception being a 20-point blowout of the Patriots. Therefore, this 7-point spread is worth a second thought.

I'm confident enough in Houston to pull the trigger, though. As long as C.J. Stroud and co. don't take their opponent too lightly, they should be able to walk out of AT&T Stadium with one of their bigger wins of the season.

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🏀 NBA Props

Nikola Vucevic: Over 30.5 Points+Rebounds+Assists (-125) @ Pistons

DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 Unit

Nikola Vucevic is coming off a down game on Sunday, putting up nine points, six rebounds, and two assists against the Rockets. But that was a blowout loss where he only played 25 minutes.

Look for a bounce-back against the Pistons in a projected high-scoring game with a 233-point total.

The Bulls' big man has eclipsed this number in 14 of 18 games this season.

We're getting a good number at 30.5 at DraftKings, as this is at 31.5 in most other spots, including FanDuel.

🏒NHL Parlays

Top NHL Parlay (+133)

• Bruins ML (-225) vs Blue Jackets

• Stars -1.5 (-162) vs Ducks

I cashed Friday’s top NHL parlay (+216), as the Blue Jackets and Ducks won outright as home underdogs. That hit meant I connected on three of four plays in this section last week, so let’s try to keep the momentum going with this two-leg fade of those two teams.

I’ll start with the Boston Bruins (8-8-3) knocking off the Columbus Blue Jackets (6-9-2) at TD Garden. The B’s are 5-3-2 on home ice, while the Blue Jackets have just one road win in nine tries (1-6-2). Even though Jeremy Swayman has been shaky, Boston has the better goaltender and should pick up two points at home.

Next, I like the Dallas Stars (11-5-0) to cover the puck line as home favorites against the Anaheim Ducks (6-8-2). Anaheim just played six straight home games, so a trip to a challenging environment against one of the league’s best teams could shock the system. Three of the Ducks’ last four defeats and three of Dallas’ last four victories have come by multiple goals. Look for the superior team to separate itself at home.

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