Niners Nation
Last week, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Atlanta Falcons in their most impressive game of the season.
Just a week later, the 49ers suffered their least impressive loss to the Houston Texans, dropping to 5-3 on the season in the 26-15 defeat in Week 8.
The 49ers couldn’t overcome a lackluster first half, in which the defense couldn’t make a stop, and it took until the final drive of the half for the offense to pick up its first first down. The second half wasn’t much better as the offense couldn’t stop the Houston pass rush, and the run game couldn’t get going.
In losses like Sunday, it’s tough to find three standout performances, but we try our best with the three stars from Sunday’s loss:
Third star: P Thomas Morstead
When the 49ers are lackluster on both sides of the ball like they were on Sunday, it opens the door for a specialist to earn a star. With Eddy Pineiro not having a field goal attempt, let’s appreciate the game Thomas Morstead put together.
Morstead was called on for a season-high five punts in the loss on Sunday, and he did his darnedest to put the defense in a position to succeed.
With his five punts, three pinned the Houston defense inside its 20, setting a new season-high. The defense, however, couldn’t do much with those three punts, allowing scores on the drives that followed Morstead pinning the Texans deep in their own territory.
Morstead’s first punt of the day went for 50 yards, forcing Jaylin Noel to call a fair catch at the Houston 18-yard line. The Texans’ offense would respond with a 10-play, 82-yard drive, touchdown-scoring drive to extend the lead to 13 points. San Francisco’s offense would respond with a quick three-and-out, sending Morstead back out for his second punt of the game. He would unleash a game-high 54-yard punt to the Houston six, but Noel would return it out to the 20-yard line. Houston’s offense would again find points even with the field position, kicking a field goal to go up 16-0.
After San Francisco got on the board to close the first half, the offense was stagnant coming out of the half, with another three-and-out resulting in a Morstead punt. Morstead would have his best kick of the day, using a 50-yard boot and a good bounce to pin Houston at their own six-yard line. With some momentum and good field position, the 49ers’ defense had a chance to make a play and keep the 49ers within two scores. Houston would respond with a 12-play, 94-yard drive with CJ Stroud hitting Xavier Hutchinson on a 30-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach.
Morstead did his best with his right foot, but the 49ers’ defense allowed 17 points on three drives that started inside Houston’s 20-yard line, enough to outscore the 49ers’ entire offensive output.
Second star: CB Deommodore Lenoir
It was a particularly rough game for the 49ers’ defense, whose lack...
