We are officially into a game week, with the San Francisco 49ers set to host the Houston Texans this Sunday. The start of a game week, even a preseason game week, means we have odds on the game! The 49ers are a three-point favorite in this one.
Preseason gambling might seem crazy, but if you have a close eye on the rosters and position competitions, it is possible to find an edge. For this particular game, we know J.J. Watt will not be playing. DeAndre Hopkins reported to training camp a week ago, so he likely will be playing. We’ll keep an eye out for news on the Texans starters, to see what kind of snap totals Bill O’Brien anticipates for them.
The one thing that will be interesting with the 49ers this preseason is how much time each of the two competing starting quarterbacks gets with the first team offense. Do they go one with the starters in Week 1, and then the other with the starters in Week 2? Or do we see both Gabbert and Kaepernick get time with the first team offense in each game? More time for the starters could bode well for the 49ers covering the spread if the ones face more of the Texans twos. There is plenty of unpredictability to all this, but there is an advantage to be had at some point.
I’m leaning taking the 49ers -3. I don’t recall ever betting on preseason in the past, but depending on this week’s rep