49ers @ Texans

[thesack12]

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This is exactly why SF must trade for pass rushing help. The defense will never get off the field.

Today we saw what Saleh needing to rely solely on blitzes to get any kind of pressure looks like... it ain't good.

Also keep in mind that Houston has a bottom of the barrel OLine and they were missing 2 of their top WR's.

[Jikkle]

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This is exactly why SF must trade for pass rushing help. The defense will never get off the field.

Today we saw what Saleh needing to rely solely on blitzes to get any kind of pressure looks like... it ain't good.

Also keep in mind that Houston has a bottom of the barrel OLine and they were missing 2 of their top WR's.

Any trade they make has to be for a guy that's going to be on the team next year other than that I'd rather save the draft picks because this season is a lost cause and I'd rather not sink resources into trying to salvage it.

That's not a knee-jerk reaction to this game but the only time this team has looked good all year was against the Falcons and even with our record our wins scream that they were a force to be reckoned with.

DL is a massive issue but the real issue killing this team at least in my opinion is the offensive line and we know that's not getting fixed this season. The defense was always going to be a work in progress so we really needed the offense to maintain TOP, put up points, and help the defense out as much as possible and it just hasn't done that. It's not the scheme or the injuries but the simple fact the offensive line can't execute so CMC can't get beyond the LOS before he's dodging people and our QBs barely have time to throw the ball before they are getting blasted.

[Pattersonca65]

The line was bad yesterday. No excuse for dline guys running past lineman without even touching them. Happened to McKivitz yesterday. A dlineman ran right by him without McKivitz even getting a hand on him. After being paid, he needs to be better than that.

[CrimsonCrew]

Man, this was a tough one. Not even really sure where to begin. The toughest aspect of this loss was that it really makes me question whether we have a shot even to win a playoff game, much less legitimately fight for a SB.

Let's start with the defense. The Texans probably have the worst collection of offensive talent - at least in terms of what they trotted out yesterday - in the league. CJ Stroud has some talent, but he's been lackluster since his rookie year. It's probably the worst OL in the league. Their WR corps was so banged up that Braxton Berrios accounted for like 85% of their NFL receptions going into the game. Dalton Schultz is only okay and was hurt. Their RBs are nothing special. And they moved the ball absolutely at will.

Admittedly, this is kind of what I expected after Fred went down. How many blue chip guys can you lose and still remain competitive? But at least with Huff out there we had some semblance of a pass rush. Without him, it's absolutely grim. Seems like no one is healthy on the DL. Collins went out though he returned. Collins went down and I believe stayed out. We're down to like our 4th or 5th DE playing as our number one.

The secondary was particularly frustrating in this one. Despite being mostly healthy, they just couldn't cover these replacement level WRs at all. Texans WRs were running open all day. We were giving seven-yard cushions on third-and-four. Green was awful, and we may have to start wondering if last year was a fluke or if he's hurt. Brown actually made some plays in the run game (praise Jesus!), but presumably was blowing his responsibilities on the back end with some regularity. Demo FINALLY gets us an INT and shows a complete lack of awareness, potentially costing us three points at the half and a chance to get right back in the game.

Goes without saying that the DL got no pressure whatsoever, but they also played the run poorly. I kept saying that they key to this game was making the Texans execute on long drives (which, to their credit, they did repeatedly), and we helped them out with a bunch of big plays. Allowed receptions of 50, 44, and 30 yards. Gave up 5.6 YPC to Woody Marks, including a 23-yarder. Let Stroud get loose for some big runs. The only positive you can say is that they managed to keep one of the worst red zone offenses in the league (31st overall, tied for last at home) out of the end zone for the most part. Only two punts forced, I think both in the 4th quarter.

I just started to type "awfence" before catching it. Fitting. Figured this season that the offense would have to pull extra weight. Boy did they not yesterday. I understand that our starting QB, top two WRs (if you can count Aiyuk this season), C, and LG are out, which would hold back any unit. But what an absolute disaster. Repeated mental mistakes just stymied us early. Our receivers can't get open, and when they do, they can't hold the ball. Jones can't play under pressure.

Jennings has cost himself so much money this year. He overvalued himself, put himself ahead of the team, and since that time has held up a flashing neon sign that reads "Not a #1 Receiver (or Even a #2)!" Bad routes, dumb penalties, crucial drops. It's been awful. Skyy Moore, who shouldn't be playing anyway, doesn't even look for the ball on a deep route. Watkins runs a great route and then lets the ball go right through his hands. The OL had repeated miscommunications or simply did not execute.

Such a nightmare. Even with an easy schedule, it's tough to see this team making any noise in the playoffs except in the exceedingly unlikely event that Purdy, Pearsall, and Aiyuk all return and absolutely ball out the rest of the year. Really, really discouraging. And a big part of what is so frustrating is that the young players have actually shown some real talent. If they were supplementing Bosa, Warner, and Huff on defense, and playing opposite Purdy, Kittle, Pearsall, etc., this team could probably hang with anyone - at least in the NFC. Instead, our injury situation seems to be getting worse instead of better.

[CrimsonCrew]

This is so bad. And again, these are our front-line starters. Looking like the 2024 D trying to stop bunch trips out here.

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[CrimsonCrew]

To be fair, Mustapha is probably to blame for this one, and is easing in after playing under Sorensen last year. Seems like we need to teach him how to effectively defend this look, because he sure as hell didn't learn it last year.

[Pattersonca65]

Man, this was a tough one. Not even really sure where to begin. The toughest aspect of this loss was that it really makes me question whether we have a shot even to win a playoff game, much less legitimately fight for a SB.

Let's start with the defense. The Texans probably have the worst collection of offensive talent - at least in terms of what they trotted out yesterday - in the league. CJ Stroud has some talent, but he's been lackluster since his rookie year. It's probably the worst OL in the league. Their WR corps was so banged up that Braxton Berrios accounted for like 85% of their NFL receptions going into the game. Dalton Schultz is only okay and was hurt. Their RBs are nothing special. And they moved the ball absolutely at will.

Admittedly, this is kind of what I expected after Fred went down. How many blue chip guys can you lose and still remain competitive? But at least with Huff out there we had some semblance of a pass rush. Without him, it's absolutely grim. Seems like no one is healthy on the DL. Collins went out though he returned. Collins went down and I believe stayed out. We're down to like our 4th or 5th DE playing as our number one.

The secondary was particularly frustrating in this one. Despite being mostly healthy, they just couldn't cover these replacement level WRs at all. Texans WRs were running open all day. We were giving seven-yard cushions on third-and-four. Green was awful, and we may have to start wondering if last year was a fluke or if he's hurt. Brown actually made some plays in the run game (praise Jesus!), but presumably was blowing his responsibilities on the back end with some regularity. Demo FINALLY gets us an INT and shows a complete lack of awareness, potentially costing us three points at the half and a chance to get right back in the game.

Goes without saying that the DL got no pressure whatsoever, but they also played the run poorly. I kept saying that they key to this game was making the Texans execute on long drives (which, to their credit, they did repeatedly), and we helped them out with a bunch of big plays. Allowed receptions of 50, 44, and 30 yards. Gave up 5.6 YPC to Woody Marks, including a 23-yarder. Let Stroud get loose for some big runs. The only positive you can say is that they managed to keep one of the worst red zone offenses in the league (31st overall, tied for last at home) out of the end zone for the most part. Only two punts forced, I think both in the 4th quarter.

I just started to type "awfence" before catching it. Fitting. Figured this season that the offense would have to pull extra weight. Boy did they not yesterday. I understand that our starting QB, top two WRs (if you can count Aiyuk this season), C, and LG are out, which would hold back any unit. But what an absolute disaster. Repeated mental mistakes just stymied us early. Our receivers can't get open, and when they do, they can't hold the ball. Jones can't play under pressure.

Jennings has cost himself so much money this year. He overvalued himself, put himself ahead of the team, and since that time has held up a flashing neon sign that reads "Not a #1 Receiver (or Even a #2)!" Bad routes, dumb penalties, crucial drops. It's been awful. Skyy Moore, who shouldn't be playing anyway, doesn't even look for the ball on a deep route. Watkins runs a great route and then lets the ball go right through his hands. The OL had repeated miscommunications or simply did not execute.

Such a nightmare. Even with an easy schedule, it's tough to see this team making any noise in the playoffs except in the exceedingly unlikely event that Purdy, Pearsall, and Aiyuk all return and absolutely ball out the rest of the year. Really, really discouraging. And a big part of what is so frustrating is that the young players have actually shown some real talent. If they were supplementing Bosa, Warner, and Huff on defense, and playing opposite Purdy, Kittle, Pearsall, etc., this team could probably hang with anyone - at least in the NFC. Instead, our injury situation seems to be getting worse instead of better.

Thanks for posting that video below. It is quite sobering. I questioned this team competing for anything with all the injuries piling up even with the Houston win. That win was a good matchup for the 49ers and Penix is just not good. Saleh didn't have an answer. He was aggressive with the blitz early on and Stroud kept beating it with quick short throws as DBs were playing off. Then Saleh started rushing just four and there was no pressure whatsoever, I just can't see this team competing against super bowl level competition. Our offense line was ofteh offensive. Seems everyone took a turn or two completely whiffing blocks and not even getting a hand on the rusher. Saw Colby, Hennessey, and McKivitz each whiff at least one block which killed drive. Ryans most also know how to defense the 49ers offense well as he was DC for the 49ers not long ago. This team is more injured than last year's team which probably most people didn't think could happen, The season went off the rails during the offseason and training camp when rookies and young players were already getting injured and missing valuable training time.

[wco81]

ESPN featuring a clip of a Texans RB British Brooks pancaking a 49ers DT, #90 Kevin Givens, opening up a huge hole in the middle for the ball carrier to run through untouched.

Brooks is listed at 225 pounds, Givens at 285 pounds.