15 Jan 10 Texans Nip 49ers

The Houston Texans have won consecutive games for the first time this season by virtue of a hard fought 24-21 victory over the visiting San Francisco 49ers. The Texans led 21-0 at halftime but fought themselves in a ball game after the Niners scored the first 14 points of the second half. The rally fell short, however, and Houston improved to 4-3 on the NFL season.

Players that bet on NFL football found the game completely irrelevant, however, as it landed right on the pointspread for a disappointing push. After covering their first four of the season against the NFL pointspread, the Niners have a loss and a push in their last two games to leave their record at 4-1-1 versus the number. Houston is now 3-3-1 ATS on the season.

Despite losing a big lead, Houston coach Gary Kubiak was pleased with the outcome:

"We get down, they get up and they all of a sudden grabbed the momentum of the game. But we made some big plays late and defensively Eugene made a big play so it was a big, big win."

Niners' coach Mike Singletary benched quarterback Shaun Hill after a terrible first half and replaced him with Alex Smith. Smith responded by throwing three touchdown passes and getting San Francisco back in the game. After the contest, Singletary explained his move:

"I just thought it was time to make the switch. It was as simple as that. No long, drawn-out thought process. But let's make the change."

Smith explained that he caught the Texans' defense playing passive football in the second half:

"Starting the second half, down three scores, you're seeing some stagnant looks from the defense, they're not throwing as much at you."

Top draft choice Michael Crabtree finally made his San Francisco debut after a lengthy holdout and described what the experience was like:

"I was kind of calm. I practiced on getting calm and coming into the game, knowing what I was supposed to do and executing my plays. I think I did a good job, but I've got some more work to do."

San Francisco will travel east to face the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday, with the 49ers installed as a +11 road underdog and the total set at 45. They'll return home for their next two games, hosting the Tennessee Titans the following Sunday and facing the Chicago Bears off a short week the next Thursday, November 12. Houston will play their next two on the road, beginning with a game at Buffalo on Sunday. They'll play at Indianapolis the following week before a bye week.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority onsports betting. He is also a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook and is in charge of setting NFL betting lines. He has written extensively on sports betting theory along with a wide range of other topics including fencing, self defense and dog training.

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