This week’s Monday Night Football matchup between the Patriots and Texans has already been an interesting one, and they haven’t even kicked off yet.

As intriguing as the clash between arguably the top two teams in the AFC promises to be, so too has the line movement (both point spread and total) on the betting lines.

The Patriots opened the week as 4-point favourites. That number was quickly bet up to 5, then dipped down to as low as 3.5 throughout the week before shooting back up to 5.5 and even 6 this morning.

The total has also been interesting to monitor. It opened at 52.5, was immediately bet down to as low as 50.5, stabilized at 51 most of the week and has since returned to 52 or higher.

Without any big injury news hitting the wire throughout the week, the primary reason for the line moves appears to be the massive interest in the game. Not only is this one of the best matchups of the year, it’s also on Monday Night Football — guaranteeing a North America-wide audience of people chasing their losses from the weekend or pressing their winnings.

Here are a few reasons to like the Texans +5.5, the Patriots -5.5, the over 52 or the under 52 tonight.

HOUSTON

At 11-1, the Texans own the best record in the entire NFL. And they’re catching nearly a touchdown? Houston has been favoured in all but one of its games this season, including a 31-25 win IN Denver as one-point faves. The one game the Texans were dogged in, they defeated the Bears 13-6 in Chicago as one-point underdogs, dominating the game throughout. And with the Texans, you’re getting both a great offence (second in scoring average at 29.2 points a game) and a great defence (fourth in points allowed at 18.4, second in rushing yards allowed at 87.8).  Contrast that with New England, which has the league’s best scoring offence (35.8 points) but allows a whopping 381 yards a game on defence.

NEW ENGLAND

Tom Brady in prime time? Not a bad guy to have your money on. In their two prime time games this season, the Pats hung 30 on a good Baltimore defence and 49 on a once-considered-good Jets defence. You could also argue the Patriots have more incentive to win this game than Houston, which at 11-1 looks home and cooled for top spot in the AFC. New England (9-3) is a game behind Denver for the second seed and has a better conference record than the Broncos. And the Patriots are rolling, having won five games in a row by six points or more. Houston’s won six in a row itself, but needed overtime to beat both the Lions and Jaguars.

OVER

When the top two offences in the league meet up, it’s pretty logical to expect a high-scoring game. Prior to going under last week against the Dolphins, the Patriots had gone over the total in their previous nine games. New England’s an over bettor’s dream with a great offence and a not-so-great defence. Houston can also put up points, scoring 24 or more in its last three games. And the Texans’ defence allowed 37 and 31 points in back-to-back games before facing an anemic Titans attack last week. You like trends? How about the over going 28-11 in Houston’s last 39 games against teams with winning records, or 19-7 in the Pats’ last 26 at home, or 37-14 in New England’s last 51 overall? And when you’re betting an over, it’s always nice to do so fully expecting both teams to score. It’s pretty unlikely that one team will lay an egg tonight and that you’ll need 40-plus out of the other.

UNDER

Let’s start with the number, 52. That’s a high one, considering most NFL games not involving the Saints feature totals in the 40s or even the high 30s. A lot of things need to go right in order to see this many points scored. Any long drives that don’t result in points (especially turnovers) can kill under tickets, as can any time a team needs to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown in the red zone. Remember, too, we’re into December. Foxborough at night isn’t exactly balmy, and there’s a good chance of freezing rain throughout the contest. That isn’t great for passing games and if there’s more running, that means the clock keeps running as well. Finally, the Patriots are a bit banged up offensively. Brandon Lloyd, Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez are all listed as questionable (though we’re sure they’ll play), and Rob Gronkowski remains out. If you’re betting over a high number like 52, you’ll want your offences firing on all cylinders.