49ers Patrick Willis has better than 50-50 chance of playing

San Francisco 49ers inside linebacker Patrick Willis (52) reacts after making a tackle against the Indianapolis Colts in the third quarter at Candlestick Park. The Colts defeated the 49ers 27-7. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

San Francisco 49ers star LB Patrick Willis is questionable to play in this week’s big game against the Houston Texans with a groin injury, but 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio did give a relatively positive update on Willis’s status. While 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh was completely non-committal on Willis’s status, essentially making it sound like Willis would be an “anyone’s guess” game-time decision, Fangio stated, per CSN Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, that Willis has a “better than 50-50” shot at playing Sunday.

Harbaugh is probably just trying to keep things as tight as possible, because it’s hard envisioning Patrick Willis missing this game. That said, Willis didn’t play last week with the groin injury, but he also didn’t practice last week either; he did practice this week. Willis seems to be significantly healthier, but he is also set to be a game-time decision for the second straight week. If his groin doesn’t feel good during pre-game warmups, then Willis will be placed on the inactive list once again.

49ers backup linebacker Michael Wilhoite looked capable last week, but losing Willis against an opponent like the Texans would obviously be a big loss. Arian Foster showed that he can have success on the ground against a top-notch run defense, as he played his best game of the season against the Seattle Seahawks in last week’s overtime loss.

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