4 Houston Texans bold predictions vs. San Francisco 49ers

Bold prediction #3: Kyle Shanahan makes another coaching mistake against the Houston Texans

This is arguably the juiciest storyline coming into this Week 17 matchup, as the 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan is coming off a loss in which his choice before halftime ended up costing them the game. If you haven’t heard, Shanahan and the 49ers had the ball on their own 10-yard line with 1:20 left in the first half.

Instead of trying to move downfield and set up in at least field goal territory, Shanahan opted to run out the clock instead. Unfortunately, that would prove costly as the 49ers lost by three points in a 20-17 heartbreaker.

When asked why he didn’t push for the points, Shanahan credited the fact that he didn’t want to turn the ball over and give Tennessee good field position. Garoppolo had thrown two first-half interceptions.

It’s the same thing that Brandon Staley for the Chargers came in with, and it’s unclear if it had a profound effect on the game on Sunday, but it certainly had to be in the back of his head. So expect Houston to take advantage of if the 49ers ruin another situation like this.