Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers dropped their third game of the season on Sunday, falling short 26-15 on the road to the Houston Texans in a rough game on both sides of the ball.
It was a really slow start for the 49ers, who trailed 16-0 to open the game before attempting a comeback. They got within a touchdown multiple times, but were never able to bridge the gap or effectively stop quarterback C.J. Stroud, who had a season-high 318 passing yards to go with three touchdowns and an interception.
Offensively, Mac Jones couldn’t get much going while facing significant pressure, completing just 19 of 32 passes for 193 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. The run game was an afterthought, with Christian McCaffrey rushing just eight times for 25 yards as the 49ers were completely one-dimensional due to playing from behind.
As a result, the 49ers will drop to second place in the NFC West at 5-3, with the Los Angeles Rams staying at 5-2 on their bye week.
Here are three quick takeaways from the 49ers 26-15 loss to the Texans on Sunday.
Time of possession
The 49ers were dominated in the first half.
Their first defensive possession was a 16-play, 57-yard drive from the Texans that they ultimately stopped for a field goal with a good run stop from Ji’Ayir Brown on a third down in the red zone. Still, that drive set the tone for Houston and took 9:41 off the clock.
The 49ers gave it right back in less than two minutes and Houston went nine plays for 71 yards for another field goal drive in the red zone. San Francisco went three-and-out this time after a four-play drive their first time out, giving the ball back in 92 seconds.
Houston then went 10 plays for 82 yards and a touchdown on a drive spanning nearly six minutes. After another three-and-out from San Francisco, the Texans went 11 more plays for 62 yards and another field goal.
At that point, it was 16-0. Houston had outgained San Francisco 272 to 15 yards. They had the ball for 24:06, compared to the 49ers’ 4:56. That kind of start on the road is absolutely killer and put the 49ers in such a hole that they were one-dimensional playing from behind the rest of the way.
Yes, they scored a touchdown to end the half, thanks to a short field. But, that didn’t matter as they went three-and-out and let Houston go 12 plays for 94 yards and a touchdown on their opening possession of the second half. Just like that, it’s 23-7.
Six of Houston’s first seven drives were at least nine plays long, all going for scores (the lone other drive was an interception to end the first half). That’s not a formula for winning football.
The Texans ended up holding the ball for 41:22 in this one, in comparison to 18:38 for the 49ers. They ran 75 plays, compared to 44 for San Francisco. That will...
