Three of the four NFC West Division teams had a bye this weekend: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks.
The Rams, Seahawks, and San Francisco 49ers were in a three-way tie with identical
5-2-0 records going into Week 8. The Cardinals brought up the rear with a 2-5-0 record.
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The 49ers had the ability to vault ahead of the other clubs in the division with a win over the struggling Houston Texans (2-4-0) on the road. But instead, the Texans shocked the Niners and defeated them 26-15 in a game that wasn’t really that close. Before kickoff, San Fran was favored, but did not play well, especially offensively.
The 49ers could not get the running game going for most of the game. In the first half, their possessions were punt, punt, punt, touchdown. In all, they rushed for just 48 rushing yards. That’s for the game, not per quarter. RB Christian McCaffrey had 25 yards on eight carries, and a nine-yard run was part of that grand total. The team only had 10 carries.
To show how bad San Francisco’s offense performed, this unit had just 12 first downs and was 3-9 on third down conversions. They had 44 total plays against the 75 that the Texans ran. But there was only one turnover and two sacks given up by the offense, so it wasn’t like they were giving the ball away all game. Simply put, the 49ers just could not move the ball. And because of this, their defense stayed on the field for the majority of the game, thus giving out in the second half.
The tale of the tape is displayed in offensive time of possession: San Francisco – 18:38, Houston – 41:22.
The Niners’ defense played well, considering they were on the field all game. Houston got into the Red Zone five times and only scored once. The Texans scored on every drive except three, plus a kneel-down on the final play.
San Francisco’s first points came after Houston led 16-0 right before the half. With 58 seconds left, kick returner Brian Robinson took the kick at the four-yard line and was finally tackled at the 50. A face mask penalty set the 49ers up at Houston’s 35. An 18-yard completion to TE Kendrick Bourne placed the ball at the Texans’ 18. That was the Niners’ very first first down of the game. After two incompletions, QB Mac Jones hit TE George Kittle in the middle of the end zone for a 17-yard TD pass with :25 left on the clock.
In the second half it was all Houston as the 49ers got another touchdown, but punted several times and lost possession on downs down the stretch.
Three 49er defenders had double-digit tackle numbers with the excessive amount of time they spent on the field.
This was a similar situation when the Cardinals played the 49ers in Week 3, a 16-15 loss. Arizona’s offensive numbers outshone San Fran’s and limited their running game to just 73 yards, were 2-10 on third down conversions, went 1-4 in the Red Zone, and had nine fewer minutes of possession.
The loss to Houston now places San Francisco at 5-3-0. The Cardinals face the 49ers in three weeks at home on November 16 in the afternoon slot.
