Instant analysis of 49ers’ 26-15 loss to Texans

HOUSTON Hey at least tight ends George Kittle and Jake Tonges scored touchdowns on the NFL s so-called National Tight Ends Day And at least Deommodore Lenoir s interception snapped the ers -game -pass drought without a pick At the end the ers didn t have much else to celebrate losing - Sunday to the host Texans The ers - and their skeleton crew on defense now move on to their fourth road trip in a five-game span Next Sunday they ll face a New York Giants group that lost rookie running back Cam Skattebo to a lower-leg injury Sunday at Philadelphia The ers defensive attrition proved glaring against the Texans - and third-year quarterback C J Stroud who threw for yards and two touchdowns even without his top wide receivers Nico Collins and Christian Kirk Stroud barely got touched even against an early barrage of blitzes The Texans scored on six of their first seven possessions with four short-range field goals and a -yard third-down scoring strike They didn t punt until minutes remained in the challenge Those lengthy scoring drives kept the ball away from the ers for over minutes leaving little time for the ers to rally behind quarterback Mac Jones who made his fourth straight start and sixth this season in place of Brock Purdy Jones was -of- for yards and tried to finish strong but a promising touchdown heave toward Jauan Jennings instead got intercepted at the -yard line by Kamari Lassiter with minute seconds remaining Christian McCaffrey s yards-from-scrimmage dominance this season hit a roadblock in Houston eight carries for yards and three catches for yards It was his first meeting without scrimmage yards The ers had pulled within - just before the fourth quarter compliments of Jones -yard touchdown missile to Jake Tonges and -point conversion toss to Demarcus Robinson Setting up those points was a -yard third-and- catch at the -yard line by Jauan Jennings who earlier dropped a -yard bomb at the -yard line Offensive production was much easier to come by for the Texans especially against a ers defense desperately seeking strategies to survive the rest of this season without Nick Bosa and Fred Warner Three of Sunday s starters left with injuries linebacker Dee Winters knee defensive tackle Jordan Elliott ankle and defensive end Sam Okuayinonu the latter of whom was carted off with an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter The Texans led - once Stroud beat a six-man pass rush and determined Xavier Hutchinson racing by Ji Ayir Brown for a -yard touchdown catch midway through the third quarter That ended a -play -yard six-minute series Down - the ers came alive with last-minute theatrics before halftime highlighted by Kittle s -yard third-down touchdown catch Setting up that number was Brian Robinson s -yard kick return the ers longest this season plus a -yard facemask penalty followed by an -yard catch from Kendrick Bourne The half ended when Lenoir intercepted an overthrown pass near the ers sideline at their -yard line and rather than step out of bounds he ran out the final five seconds with a return to the Texans That snapped the ers NFL-record streak of consecutive games passes without an interception and it was Lenoir s first since last Oct The ers staked the Texans to - lead yielding three short-range field goals and a -yard touchdown pass to an open Jayden Higgins amid confusion in the secondary between Malik Mustapha Renardo Green and Dee Winters Sparking that Texans touchdown drive was a -yard shot from Stroud to Jaylin Noel another of the young receivers filling in for Nico Collins and Christian Kirk Related Articles ers pregame WR Watkins debuting all cornerbacks suiting up vs Texans ers cut deficit to - heading into fourth quarter Charles Woodson knows what ers Brock Purdy is going though with turf toe ers keys to winning in Houston Keep up McCaffrey s Texas-sized workload How to watch the ers vs Texans on Sunday ers Deommodore Lenoir expected to face Texans Brandon Aiyuk may practice next week