Texans dominate 49ers from start to finish in 26-15 win

There is a time when the laundry list of injuries catches up to a team.

That time was this Sunday afternoon in heart of Texas. The Houston Texans led from start to finish in a 26-15 convincing victory over the San Francisco 49ers at NRG Stadium.

What was thought to be an inferior opponent for San Francisco as the struggling Texans came into the game with just two wins and without their top 2 wide receivers Nico Collins and Christian Kirk as well as offensive tackle Trent Brown, Houston dominated in every category possible.

San Francisco didn't even register a first down till the end of the first half as Houston jumped out to a 16-0 lead with long drives of 16, 9, 10 and 11 plays that ate up over 25 minutes of the first half. The 49ers really missed Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, who are both out with season ending injuries, as Houston quarterback CJ Stroud led methodical drives that helped keep San Francsico's offense on the sidelines.

Houston's first two drives only led to two field goals but the fact they stayed on the field converting on third down, they eventually wore down San Francisco's defense as their third drive went 10 plays, 82 yards capped off with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Stroud to Jayden Higgins who was left completely wide open by the 49ers' secondary.

On the flip side San Francisco's offense had three possessions in the first half that totaled 10 plays for 19 yards. Running back Christian McCaffery, who had 31 touches and 201 scrimmage yards last Sunday night against the Atlanta Falcons, barely touched the ball. When he did get his hands on the ball in the first quarter, those plays were wiped away by penalties. Run CMC only had two touches for 8 yards in the first 30 minutes of the game.

Brian Robinson Jr. gave the 49ers a pulse late in the second quarter when he returned a kickoff for 46 yards to midfield. A face mask penalty on the play gave San Francisco its best field position of the game at the Texans 35-yard line. Quarterback Mac Jones, who made his fourth straight start for the injured Brock Purdy, finished off the four play drive by threading a needing over the middle between two Texan defenders to tight end George Kittle for an 18-yard touchdown to put San Francisco on the scoreboard. Kittle, who didn't have a catch last week against Atlanta, finished with four catches for 43 yards.

The second half was more of the same as Houston began the third quarter marching down the field 94 yards on 12 plays. Stroud finished off the drive with a 30-yard strike to Xavier Hutchinson for a touchdown that gave the Texans a 23-7 lead which became insurmountable. Hutchinson led all receivers with five catches for 69 yards to go along with his touchdown.

It was a long day for Jones who had constant pressure from Houston's front four. Will Anderson Jr. along with his linemates harassed Jones and forced hurried throws that went incomplete. Of course, Jones' receivers didn't provide much support as Jauan Jennings dropped a deep pass down the middle of the field where he had a step on his defender which would've resulted in a big play and put San Francisco inside the red zone. Jones went 19 of 32 for 193 yards to go along with two touchdowns and one interception with a QB rating of just 84.5.

Jones's counterpart Stroud had quite the opposite experience as he kept his uniform clean with plenty of time to throw the ball in the pocket. The 49ers pass rush was non-existent as they were also without Bryce Huff who was out with a hamstring injury and didn't register a sack. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh hardly blitzed and whenever San Francisco did get pressure on Stroud, he was able to make a play, either completing a pass or gaining yards on the ground. Stroud finished the game going 30 of 39 for 318 yards with two touchdowns and one interception to go along with 30 rushing yards.

San Francisco also lost the battle in the trenches giving up 157 yards on the ground as a combo of rookie running back Woody Marks (67 yards) and veteran Nick Chubb (56 yards) created a balanced offensive attack for Houston as they outgained the Niners in total yards 475 to 223.

Jones made it a one score game late in the third quarter when he connected with a backup tight end Jake Tonges with a two-yard touchdown on a nice play-action pass after Jennings set up San Francisco at the two-yard line with a nice catch for 25-yards converting a 3rd and 17. Jones subsequently found Demarcus Robinson on an out route for the two-point conversion.

However, the Texans tacked on a Ka'imi Fairbairn 30-yard field goal on their next possession to go up by two scores on a drive that went 10 plays and ate up 5:47 of the clock. Kamari Lassiter sealed the game for Houston when he picked off a deep ball intended for Jennings at his own one-yard line on a poorly under thrown by Jones just before the two-minute warning.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff will need to go back to the drawing board and figured out why McCaffery only had 11 touches for just 68 scrimmage yards as well as figure out how to get pressure on the opposing quarterback. They were outcoached from start to finish by their former defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and his coaching staff.

San Francisco heads back east to take on the New York Giants on Sunday November 2nd at 10:00am at MetLife Stadium.