SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The long string of injuries that have haunted the San Francisco 49ers all season finally became too much to overcome for at least one week.
The defense missing its top two players couldn’t get off the field, the offense led by backup quarterback Mac Jones and mostly reserve receivers never got going and the 49ers lost 26-15 to the Houston Texans on Sunday.
The Niners fell into a 16-0 hole, didn’t generate a single first down until the final minute of the first half and allowed a Houston offense that had struggled all season to gain 475 yards and convert 9 of 16 third downs.
“There’s not much to sugarcoat there,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I was really disappointed with how we looked for all four quarters. First half was unacceptable. Second half didn’t get much better.”
Fixing the defense will be difficult with Fred Warner and Nick Bosa out for the season but the 49ers are hopeful that quarterback Brock Purdy and receivers Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk can return from injuries soon to boost an offense that ranks 26th in the league in scoring.
Shanahan said it was possible that Purdy could return this week after missing the past four games with a toe injury. Pearsall will be evaluated on Wednesday and might be at least a week away from coming back from a knee injury.
Aiyuk isn’t quite ready to return to practice as he works his way back from last year’s knee surgery but is getting closer.
“You can daydream and think with that stuff,” tight end George Kittle said. “I can’t wait to start playing with those guys again. Currently, we’re playing with what we’ve got. What we’ve got is enough to win football games. But when you operate the way that we did in the first three or four drives, which is honestly, really, really bad is what I would say from missed assignments to procedure penalties to holding. Whatever they were, we just played bad football on offense.”
What’s working
Passing to tight ends. Not much went right on Sunday but both of Jones’ TD passes went to tight ends with Kittle catching the first and Jake Tonges the second. Tonges leads the team with four TD catches this season and tight ends have seven of the 12 this season with Kittle having two and Luke Farrell one.
What needs help
Interceptions. The 49ers ended a NFL-record 14-game streak without an interception when Deommodore Lenoir got one in the closing seconds of the first half. But even that play didn’t work out great for San Francisco. Lenoir had a chance to go down or go out of bounds before the clock expired to give Eddy Pineiro a chance at a field goal. But he kept running and time ran out before he was tackled at the 30, costing the 49ers a chance at points.
Stock up
Kick returns. Brian Robinson set up San Francisco’s first touchdown with a 46-yard return followed by a facemask penalty that let the Niners start the drive at the Houston 35. Robinson also had a 30-yard return to the 35 and the Niners had another drive start at the 40 after a kick landed short of the landing zone.
Stock down
Pass rush. The 49ers have struggled to generate any pass rush ever since Nick Bosa went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 3. It got worse on Sunday with Bryce Huff also sidelined by a hamstring injury. San Francisco had no sacks and only two QB hits on 39 pass attempts for C.J. Stroud and got pressure on just three of 28 drop-backs when not blitzing, according to Pro Football Focus.
San Francisco’s five sacks starting in the game when Bosa got hurt in Week 3 are the fewest for any team in its past six games.
Injuries
Jones (bruised knee), DE Sam Okuayinonu (ankle), DT Jordan Elliott (ankle), LB Dee Winters (knee) and DT Alfred Collins (shoulder) are all day to day after getting hurt Sunday. … OL Ben Bartch (ankle) is expected to have his practice window opened this week. … DE Bryce Huff (hamstring) and C Jake Brendel (hamstring) are expected to miss a second straight game.
Key stat
18:38. The Niners had the ball for less than 19 minutes for the game for their second-lowest total in a game since at least 2000. The only game lower came in Week 11 of the 2009 season when they had the ball for 18:21 against Green Bay. Their 44 plays run were tied for their fifth fewest in any game in the Super Bowl era and their fewest since they had 41 plays against Baltimore on Oct. 7, 2007.
Next steps
The 49ers visit the New York Giants on Sunday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Pro Football Writer
