The San Francisco 49ers hit the road for a Sunday showdown against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.
San Francisco is coming off a convincing 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons, a game dominated by Christian McCaffrey. The star running back looked unstoppable, racking up 129 rushing yards, 72 more through the air, and two touchdowns, putting on a clinic against Atlanta’s defense and reminding everyone why he’s been one of the league’s most dynamic playmakers for years.
Houston, meanwhile, boasts the stingiest defense in the NFL, giving up just 14.7 points per game, yet somehow, wins have been hard to come by. That trend continued on Monday Night Football, when the Texans’ defense cracked under pressure, surrendering 27 points in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks that snapped their two-game winning streak.
Houston Texans vs San Francisco 49ers kick-off time
NFL – NFL
NRG Stadium
The 49ers and the Texans play on Sunday, Oct. 26, at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, in a game on the NFL Week 8 schedule, with kick-off slated for 1:00 pm ET on FOX.
Team news & squadsHouston Texans team news
For the Texans, it all starts — and often ends — with CJ Stroud. The young quarterback looked electric before the bye, only to stumble last week in a flat performance against Seattle. In his defense, he was under siege for most of the afternoon and missing key weapons Nico Collins and Christian Kirk. Collins is still navigating the concussion protocol, which could spell more work for Dalton Schultz, rookie wideout Jaylin Noel, and perhaps Jayden Higgins.
Meanwhile, Houston’s backfield rotation continues to shift away from Nick Chubb toward Woody Marks. The rookie hasn’t found much daylight since his breakout Week 4 performance, but the coaching staff seems determined to let him ride it out.
If the Texans are going to steal this one, it’ll be because of their defense, particularly their ferocious pass rush. Sitting fourth in the league with 49 sacks, anchored by Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, this front can destroy a game plan in a hurry. If Jones doesn’t get the ball out quickly, it could be a very long day in the pocket.
Stroud has been fairly sharp under center this season, completing 64.8% of his passes for 1,305 yards, nine touchdowns, and four picks. His favorite targets have been Nico Collins and Dalton Schultz, who together have accounted for 623 receiving yards and three scores, while Xavier Hutchinson has chipped in with 13 catches.
On the ground, Houston’s rushing attack is putting up 106.2 yards per game, with Nick Chubb leading the charge at 265 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, the Texans have been lights-out, giving up just 14.7 points and 274.2 yards per outing. Kamari Lassiter anchors the unit with 38 tackles, Danielle Hunter has notched four sacks, and Jalen Pitre has been a ballhawk in the secondary with three interceptions.
Texans injury report: Christian Kirk, WR – Questionable , Nico Collins, WR – Questionable , Alijah Huzzie, CB – NFI-R , Jaylin Smith, CB – IR , Justin Watson, WR – IR
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San Francisco 49ers team news
The 49ers will roll into Week 8 without Brock Purdy, handing the reins to Mac Jones, and let’s be honest, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Jones opened the season looking sharp, but lately he’s fallen off a cliff, tossing zero touchdowns and three interceptions across his last two outings. The Niners will need him to rediscover his early-season touch fast, or things could get dicey.
Luckily for San Francisco, Christian McCaffrey remains the heartbeat of this offense. Fresh off racking up 200-plus yards and two touchdowns, the all-purpose back looks like a one-man wrecking crew. If he finds his rhythm early, Houston’s defense could be in for a long, painful afternoon.
The 49ers’ air attack sputtered against Atlanta, George Kittle was held without a catch, while Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne combined for just six receptions. Expect that to shift dramatically, especially if rookie Ricky Pearsall remains sidelined. This feels like a game where Jones will need to look Kittle’s way early and often to keep the Texans’ pass rush honest.
Defensively, San Francisco deserves credit. Even without Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, the Niners’ unit held up admirably against the Falcons, swarming to the ball and keeping things tight. The question now: can Bryce Huff, Dee Winters, and company replicate that intensity against C.J. Stroud and Houston’s passing attack? That might be the deciding factor.
49ers injury report: Upton Stout, CB – Questionable , Brock Purdy, QB – Questionable , Ricky Pearsall, WR – Questionable , Yetur Gross-Matos, DE – Questionable , Jake Brendel, C – Questionable
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Watch and live stream Texans vs 49ers in the USA
The Texans vs 49ers game in Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season will be broadcast live nationally on FOX. Fans can catch the coverage onFubo (Try for free today!).
More details on where to watch the game in the United States, including streaming options, will be released soon, so keep an eye out for our dedicated coverage.
Watch and live stream Texans vs 49ers worldwide
For fans outside the U.S. looking to stay plugged into the action,NFL Game Pass on DAZN is the ultimate ticket. It serves up more than 200 regular-season and playoff matchups, complete Super Bowl coverage, plus access to NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and plenty more to keep you locked in all year long.
To bypass regional restrictions or to access the game if you are travelling abroad, you can watch the action using a Virtual Private Network like ExpressVPN.
How to buy Texans vs 49ers tickets
The showdown between the Texans and the 49ers is set for NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, a venue that packs in up to 72,220 fans and promises a fiery atmosphere on game day.
Tickets are already up for grabs on StubHub, with entry starting at $386. From there, prices climb through the tiers — $300, $400, $500, $600, $700, $800, $900, $1,000, and stretching all the way into the premium ranges of $2,000, $3,000, $4,000, $5,000, $6,000, and topping out at $10,406 for the best seats in the house.
Check the link below for the full breakdown of how to purchase tickets to NFL games.
READ MORE: NFL 2025 Tickets: Prices, deals, season tickets & membership information
Texans vs 49ers Fantasy Football
C.J. Stroud hit a wall Monday night in Seattle, struggling through one of his toughest outings as a pro. The rookie completed just 46.9% of his passes and averaged a meager 4.7 yards per attempt, a stat line that paints the picture of an offense stuck in neutral. Coming into last week, there was some optimism that Houston had turned a corner offensively after respectable showings against Tennessee and a shorthanded Baltimore squad. But against a legitimate defense, that illusion quickly faded. With his receiving corps thinned out and a low-scoring game likely on deck, Stroud drops into fringe QB2 territory this week.
The Falcons’ defense had been the NFL’s gold standard in yards allowed, surrendering just 253 total yards per game. Then Christian McCaffrey came along and made those numbers look laughable. The 49ers’ superstar back shredded Atlanta for 201 scrimmage yards, nearly doubling his previous season high in rushing. It was a vintage CMC showcase, the kind of complete dominance that reminds everyone why he’s one of the most dynamic players in football. The 49ers face another defensive juggernaut this week in Houston, who ranks third in fewest total yards allowed, but stopping McCaffrey when he’s in this kind of rhythm feels like trying to catch lightning in a bottle.
Early word out of San Francisco suggests Mac Jones could get the nod again this weekend, depending on Brock Purdy’s recovery timeline. Nothing is set in stone yet, but as things stand, Jones profiles as a low-end QB2 — a capable stopgap but far from a fantasy centerpiece.
And then there’s George Kittle, the poster child for fantasy heartbreak. His much-anticipated return turned into a goose egg, zero catches on two targets in a game that had “Kittle explosion” written all over it. With so many of San Francisco’s offensive stars nursing injuries, it felt like his time to shine. Instead, fantasy managers were left staring at an empty stat line. Still, Kittle remains one of the rare tight ends who can flip a matchup on its head any given week. Expect him to rebound quickly and reestablish his TE1 dominance — because elite talent doesn’t stay quiet for long.
Texans vs 49ers Game Predictions
The on-again, off-again, and often banged-up 49ers decided to flip the switch on Sunday night, and they did it in style. Christian McCaffrey was in full superhero mode, racking up a monstrous 200 total yards from scrimmage in San Francisco’s 20-10 win over Atlanta. The do-it-all back bulldozed his way to 129 rushing yards and two touchdowns, reminding everyone that when he’s healthy, the 49ers’ offense runs entirely through him. Expect Kyle Shanahan to keep leaning on that formula until someone proves they can stop it, which, at the moment, feels like wishful thinking.
The Houston Texans, fresh off their bye, haven’t exactly been world-beaters against winning teams, and that trend loomed large heading into their Monday night clash with Seattle.
What makes this Week 8 showdown so compelling is the chess match between former colleagues: DeMeco Ryans squaring off against his old boss, Shanahan. There’s something delicious about a defensive-minded coach trying to crack the code of the system he once helped build. Ryans has crafted a stingy Texans defense against the pass, one that’s been giving opposing quarterbacks nightmares, and that success should carry over no matter who takes the snaps for San Francisco.
But here’s the rub: Houston’s run defense is another story. It’s been soft in key spots, and Shanahan will surely exploit that weakness by feeding Christian McCaffrey early and often. Combine that with the Texans’ ongoing struggles to keep C.J. Stroud upright for more than a heartbeat, and the scales tip toward San Francisco. This feels like one of those games where the 49ers don’t just win, they impose their will and remind the rest of the league that when they’re “on,” they’re downright terrifying.
Texans vs 49ers Betting Odds
Spread
49ers +1.5 (-115)
Texans -1.5 (-105)
Moneyline
49ers -102
Texans -118
Total
OVER 41.5 (-110)
UNDER 41.5 (-110)
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