Three and Out: Texans-49ers predictions

After a resounding victory over the Chargers at home, the Houston Texans (4-11) hope to build on their late-season momentum in San Francisco and upset the 49ers (8-7), who are firmly in the playoff table of the NFC.

At the time of this entry, it’s unclear whether Jimmy Garoppolo or Trey Lance will start at QB for the 49ers, but the Texans are likely more focused that a large chunk of their roster will return from the Covid roster to be available on Sunday.

Let’s see how the BRB staff see this game going:

Matt Weston: 49ers 30, Texans 20.

What do we know? The Texans have a terrible running defense. The San Francisco 49ers have a perfectly designed and executed out-of-box running game, and attack the field horizontally even with their receivers in the running game. This pattern has caused problems for Houston all season. Cleveland, Los Angeles (C) and even the New York Jets set him on the ground with it.

Trey Lance has been horrible in his debut this year and has never been a factor in the racing game. He couldn’t miss anyone and sprayed passes across the field. Maybe he needed some time to regroup and reload, but funny as it sounds, San Francisco is worse with Lance instead of Jimmy Garoppolo this season.

The 49ers have a deadly pass rush. Nick Bosa is already back to full health and is a pending Defensive Player of the Year. He is joined by Arik Armstead, Arden Key and even Dee Ford got wet several times this year. Charlie Heck better be ready. It will be his most difficult assignment yet.

Houston will struggle to run the ball. Davis Mills will be back to face a longer third down and a veritable pass rush. The old days that tore him to shreds will be back. I still think he’s been good enough lately to score points this week, but it won’t be enough to make up for Houston’s run defense.

Chris: 49ers 29, Texans 23.

Honestly, I’m very tempted to pick up the Texans in an upheaval this week – not for some real reason other than these predictions mean nothing and why not be positive for once? But the reality is, I think the 49ers’ game is absolutely going to SHRED the Texans. However, I have a feeling Houston will keep him close. Davis Mills has shown some promise, but it will be interesting (scary) to see if it holds up to a formidable pass from the 49er.

The real question is, is your body ready for a 3pm kickoff?

bfMFd: 49ers 29, Texans 13.

There seem to be two main variables when screening a Texans game. 1. Are we playing the Glitter Kitties? 2. Are we playing more than 50% saves, especially against pass rushers?

As long as Davis Mills faces some quality backup players, he truly is an elite QB in the NFL. If he has to face starters? Ouch.

l4blitzer: 49ers 26, Texans 16.

You could forgive the Texans for feeling pretty confident about this game. They are eyeing the prospect of their first 3-game winning streak since 2018. The 49ers are coming out of a disappointing loss Thursday night in a game they thought they should have won, but failed to do so. The loss practically closed the door on slim hopes of winning their division, and they had 10 days to prepare for a team that’s just playing the rope. Additionally, the 49ers face the prospect of playing without a key weapon, primarily starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. If he can’t go, and based on conflicting reports he injured his hand but could possibly play, the Texans could face Trey Lance, who in his limited action hasn’t exactly been living up to the hefty draft price San Francisco paid to get its services.

Maybe the Texans think there’s a good chance history will repeat itself, with the 49ers taking over from the Chargers, and San Francisco ignoring them like LA did. Yet I do not see this happening. For one thing, San Francisco will always have its dangerous running game, and the Texans are vulnerable to running. Second, the Texans will be on the road and San Francisco will present a different challenge than the nearly empty boundaries of NRG Stadium. Plus, the Texans have shown they’re not just playing the rope, and San Francisco will be more locked in, especially since they’re in an aerial fight for their playoff life.

This game should be more competitive than the last time Houston visited San Francisco, when Schaub threw a pick-six in the opener, the rest of the night being a full force beating from San Fran. Still, the Texans, even with an improving Davis Mills, lack the horsepower to compete with a more motivated San Francisco team. In the end, San Francisco makes the adjustments and doesn’t see an early lead evaporate like against Tennessee. Houston still remains in the driver’s seat for a top-five pick.

Mike: 49ers 31, Texans 27.

The Texans are Texans, and David Culley and his team are going to do whatever they can to win this game – even if they should deliberately lose it. But, despite their best efforts, bolstered by last weekend’s momentum, they still lack a legitimate running game, a porous offensive line, lackluster defense and a playoff-tied opponent.

The 49ers racked up 3,848 passing yards while the Texans gave up 3,595.

The 49ers ran for 1,856 yards while the Texans gave up 2,119.

The 49ers scored 45 touchdowns, the Texans gave up 47.

The 49ers are ranked 14th for scorers and 18th for points awarded.

The Texans are ranked 30th (tied) for scorers and 29th for runs allowed.

The 49ers are in 9th place in the overall team standings, while the Texans are 29th.

Some of these stats read as 2 teams that are a lot closer than they actually are, and this game can feel a lot closer than it actually is before it’s all over.

What will be really interesting is how the returning “starters” of the COVID list behave this weekend compared to their backups last weekend. Looking at the individual performances of returning players and comparing their overall ‘success’ to those who did their job last weekend will tell us not only a lot about these players, but also talent assessment skills and ability. to place the right player in the right position. by David Culley and his team.

Thanks for reading these silly predictions all year long. Wish you all a Happy New Year, enjoy the game and use the comments section to give us your game predictions. We only have two left, one way or another!