49ers vs. Texans Odds
| 49ers Odds | -3.5 |
| Texans Odds | +3.5 |
| Moneyline | -175 / +150 |
| Over/Under | 40.5 |
| Time | Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET |
| TV | Amazon Prime Video |
| Odds via FanDuel. Get the latest NFL odds here. | |
Two teams that will enter the regular season will close the preseason tonight in Houston, where the Texans will host the San Francisco 49ers.
This will be the final chance for a pair of second-year quarterbacks to get their final reps in before games begin to matter. While Houston will be evaluating Davis Mills this season to determine whether he’s the QB of the future, Trey Lance enters with the keys to the franchise.
Mills sputtered his way through five drives in the Texans’ last preseason game against the Rams, before leading a 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with a pass to Nico Collins to close the first half. He’s 13-of-20 for 110 passing yards between his first two preseason appearances.
Lance, on the other hand, didn’t play last week against Minnesota, although he impressed by going 4-of-5 for 92 yards and a touchdown in the opener against Green Bay. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Lance would play “the first half at the most” tonight in Houston.
Both teams are 2-0 this preseason. Something’s gotta give. Something about an irresistible force meeting the immovable object.
Simon Hunter and Sam Farley lay out their picks, both backing the 49ers, below.
49ers 1H Spread
Simon Hunter: Everything I've read from the San Francisco beat is that the 49ers are treating like a true regular-season tune-up. It sounds like quarterback Trey Lance and more starters, including multiple on defense, will play the majority of the first half.
This will be a great chance for Lance and the Niners offense to set a tone for the season and cap a successful preseason.
I'm looking to back San Francisco's first-half spread right when it becomes available on Thursday. I'd play it to -4.
49ers -2.5
Sam Farley: Both of these head coaches have career preseason records above .500, but I can’t look beyond Kyle Shanahan adding another strike in the win column in betting this game.
The Texans will almost certainly make the decision to rest a number of key guys and evaluate the rest of the players on the periphery of the roster. In the last game we didn’t see either rookie Dameon Pierce or Brandin Cooks and it’s clear that Lovie Smith is happy to rest those who he thinks will be key to his season.
Kyle Shanahan has already said that his first string won’t play more than a half against the Texans, and it’ll probably be less than that. However, we’ve seen enough from this offense in recent years to know that it's still dominant, particularly on the ground, regardless of the talent on the field.
There’s a lot of competition for space on the roster, particularly at running back. Jeff Wilson Jr., Trey Sermon, Tyrion Davis-Price, JaMycal Hasty and Jordan Mason are all hoping to force their way into the regular-season rotation behind Elijah Mitchell.
That depth in runners should give the Niners an easy win on the road at NRG Stadium.
