Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers continue to see-saw back and forth in the win and loss column. Week 8’s loss to the Houston Texans wasn’t all that shocking, given the quality of the opponent and the road team’s injuries.
All is not lost for the 5-3 Niners. If you’re going to drop a game, let it be in the AFC. San Francisco is 5-1 in the NFC. That conference record will come in handy, so long as the team continues to win the games they are supposed to.
There was enough bad in this game to humble the 49ers. The ugly was more of a product of injuries, while the good was too little, too late. Let’s pivot from Winners and Losers for now to discuss the 49ers from a different angle.
The 49ers’ red zone defense held the Texans to one touchdown on five attempts. When your defensive line consists of rookies and practice squad players, the offense moving the ball is inevitable. It’s one thing to bend between the 20s. It’s another to fold once the offense is inside the red zone.
A 15-play drive to begin the game ended with a tackle for loss on 3rd & 1. On the second drive, the 49ers were more lucky than good, and that’s OK. C.J. Stroud’s errant second-down pass meant 3rd & 9.
It’s not as if the Niners had a bad call on during the lone touchdown drive allowed in the red area. A player was beaten 1-on-1. It happens.
Another tackle for loss in the fourth quarter limited Houston to another field goal. Going 1-for-5 in the red zone isn’t sustainable, but when the offense is fully healthy, the defense holding teams to 26 should be enough for the offense to win.
Mac Jones played well enough to compete, if not win. The interception came at the end of the game when it felt like the victor had already been decided. Jones was trying to make a play. That shouldn’t bother you. The lack of speed on the field was evident. However, that didn’t prevent Jones from giving his wide receivers opportunities to make plays.
The Texans have an elite secondary. Kyle Shanahan has been able to scheme players open for a month. That was not the case against DeMeco Ryans’ squad. There were a handful of throws where Jones put the ball where only his receiver could make a play. He was under pressure on 44 percent of his drops. All things considered, there wasn’t much more Jones could bring to the table on Sunday, especially against a defense that’s second in schedule-adjusted efficiency at limiting passes to tight ends and running backs — the two areas where the 49ers generally have their biggest advantages.
The 49ers’ special teams might have had their best collective showing of the season. Now that is a surprise when you remember that Eddy Pineiro didn’t attempt a field goal. Andrew Pasquini did a good job of [highlighting Thomas...
