The San Francisco 49ers return to action on Sunday, traveling south to face the Houston Texans in Week 14. They are coming off a win over the Chicago Bears to improve to 2-10 on the season. The 49ers have won two of their last three games, and a win in Houston would certainly suggest some positive momentum coming down the final stretch of the season.
The 49ers are a slim underdog, with most shops either at 2.5 or three points, according to Odds Shark. The line dropped down near a point in the early going, but it quickly climbed back up to a field goal. I think some sharp money came in to drop the half point at places where you can get the Texans at 2.5 points.
I am once again taking the 49ers as one of my five SuperContest picks for Week 14. Jimmy Garoppolo looked good enough last week that I think we could see the 49ers surprise some folks in Week 14. It would not be entirely shocking to see the 49ers win, but road wins aren’t going to come easy. They edged out Chicago in spite of serious red zone issues and poor punt coverage. If they can improve on the red zone penalties, this becomes even more of an incredibly winnable game.
For the fourth straight season, I am back for the Westgate SuperContest. SB Nation's partners over at Odds Shark are sponsoring my entry again. The contest requires selecting 5 games each week and picking them against the spread. This year's contest is expected to have over 2,700 participants, which is a new record for the SuperContest. SB Nation is represented by myself, Matt Ufford, and Jason Kirk, and there are folks from all over the blogosphere involved. I went 3-2 last week, bouncing back modestly from an atrocious Week 12. There is a running leaderboard here, but you can check how I’m doing against my Odds Shark teammates here. You can follow my standings under the name "Fooch.”
Here are my Week 14 SuperContest picks:
BENGALS (-6.5) over Bears
JAGUARS (-2.5) over Seahawks
BROWNS (+3) over Packers
49ers (+3) over TEXANS
CHARGERS (-6) over Washington
Here are all my picks for Week 13. I finished last week 9-7. That brings my season total to to 86-102-5.
FALCONS vs. Saints (Pick ‘Em): Falcons - WIN
BUCCANEERS vs. Lions (Pick ‘Em): Lions
BENGALS vs. Bears (+6.5): Bengals
BILLS vs. Colts (+3): Bills
JAGUARS vs. Seahawks (+2.5): Jaguars
CHIEFS vs. Raiders (+4): Chiefs
PANTHERS vs. Vikings (-2.5): Panthers
BROWNS vs. Packers (-3): Browns
TEXANS vs. 49ers (+3): 49ers
CHARGERS vs. Washington (+6): Chargers
BRONCOS vs. Jets (Pick ‘Em): Jets
CARDINALS vs. Titans (-3): Titans
RAMS vs. Eagles (+2): Rams
GIANTS vs. Cowboys (-4): Giants
STEELERS vs. Ravens (+5): Steelers
DOLPHINS vs. Patriots (-11): Patriots