The San Francisco 49ers fell to the Houston Texans 17-0 in a sloppy effort at NRG Stadium on Thursday night.
Here is what stood out from the game.
Trey Lance
Lance looked like a quarterback who hadn’t played in a game for nearly two weeks and had only two days of practice in the previous six.
At first glance, Lance’s numbers, he completed seven of eleven passes for 49 yards, don’t look bad. What those numbers don’t show is an overall lack of accuracy, which limited yards after contact for the receivers.
On the first series of the game, Lance was forced to move to his right. The quarterback had Brandon Aiyuk open, but his pass hit the ground about five yards in front of the receiver. Two plays later, Deebo Samuel had a step on the defensive back on a go route down the right sideline, but Lance’s pass was slightly underthrown, allowing the defender to get a hand on the ball.
It wasn’t all on Lance, as the offensive line did him no favors with constant pressure off the edges.
Jaylon Moore
The second-year offensive lineman was beaten repeatedly in pass protection. Moore can hold his own when lined up at guard, but he’s not good when lined up outside at tackle. Against Houston, Moore again showed why he was replaced by journeyman Tom Compton last year.
Colton McKivitz
McKivitz looked slightly better than Moore, but that’s not saying much.
The 49ers better hope Trent Williams or Mike McGlinchey is healthy for every game. If one of those two is out for any reason, it will be bad news.
Spencer Burford
The rookie right guard was called twice for holding penalties. Burford has been solid for the most part, but he needs to clean things up before week one.
Aaron Banks
With the offense facing fourth and three at the Texans 35, the Houston defender beat Banks with a quick inside move to drop Trey Sermon for a loss of three.
Jason Poe
Poe was beaten with a swim move on a run play to his side, leading to the running back being tackled for a loss.
Despite his quickness and strength, Poe’s lack of size opens him up to these types of plays.
Justin Skule
The veteran tackle has been a turnstile during training camp, and this showed up again tonight as Texans defenders consistently ran around him on the way to the quarterback.
Ross Dwelley
Dwelley caught all three passes which came his way. His 30-yard reception up the right seam was the 49ers longest pass play of the night, and he did a terrific job of holding onto the ball through contact by the safety.
Jauan Jennings
Jennings has struggled with holding on to the ball during training camp. He came away with three receptions on four targets for 34 yards tonight.
Running game
Jeff Wilson Jr. started the game and carried the ball three times for 16 yards. The other three running backs carried the ball 12 times for 24 yards.
Trey Sermon was held to under 2.5 yards per attempt in all three preseason games, and Ty Davis-Price hasn’t been much better. Even Jordan Mason struggled in this one, gaining only seven yards on four carries.
Samuel Womack
The rookie made the start at cornerback. He was in position to break up the first pass that came his way but was later called for pass interference in the endzone, leading to the first Houston touchdown of the game.
Playing in the slot during the second quarter, Womack ran stride for stride with Texans wide receiver Chris Moore. Womack got his hand on the ball, and Tarvarius Moore grabbed it for an interception.
Tariq Castro-Fields
On a third and three play in the first quarter, Castro-Fields was all over Nico Collins to break up a quick slant and end a Texans possession. That was the highlight of the preseason for Castro-Fields.
Samson Ebukam
Ebukam beat the left tackle to sack Davis Mills on the first defensive play of the game. Later in the game, Ebukam’s pressure forced Mills to move, which led to a sack by Jordan Willis.
Charles Omenihu
Omenihu got to the quarterback for the 49ers third quarterback sack of the game.
Brock Purdy
Purdy is Nick Mullens with the ability to move. Remember what it was like to watch Mullens play? He’d make a few nice throws, then hit a defender in the hands for a turnover.
That’s what Purdy did tonight. He made some solid plays, only to hit a Texans linebacker in the hands for an interception. Still, Purdy looked better than Nate Sudfeld.
Wow. That was ugly. Trey Lance looks like he couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. The O-Line struggles are very concerning. This definitely is not a top 5 O-Line. The big question is: Will they be a bottom 5 O-Line. I’m sure they will clean up a lot of stuff but jeez, that was a poor effort.
This one was frustrating to watch, but I realized it was all about testing the roster depth. I agree on the Lance take. He misses too many lay ups.
Texans are trying to win their fans back so I understand their approach to winning.
The season hasn’t started yet and now we have that QB controversy ….
cant wait till regular season
1. I appreciate Amazon Prime and streaming. We need an alternative to Direct TV League Pass. I am not a huge fan of Al, over-the-hill, Michaels, but you cant have everything.
2. Lance played pretty well all things considered. He had 1 bad pass but everything else was on target or within the catch radius. I looked like the CB hooked Deebo’s left arm .
3. I agree with Jack’s comment about Sermon and Price at the bottom of the ladder. Why did we draft 2 RBs in the 3rd round of consecutive drafts instead of a Center, Right Guard or Free Safety.
4. Some of the O line woes can be mitigated via play action , designed rollouts, screen passes etc. But Lynch and Shanahan did their young QB no favors with this current O line. We should have released Jimmy in March and used that money to retain Laken.
I agree. I thought Lance played well with that Oline. That pass to Deebo was a beauty and should have been called a pass interference. The “touch” passes were there unlike last year. And that’s all I wanted to see on these preseason games.
Richard Sherman’s comments on Jimmy G were instructive. Great teammate and he will do well wherever he lands. Oh well, maybe Sherman has become out of touch.
Have there been any updates on McGlinchey? Will he be ready to go in 16 days? If not Chi. is going to beat the 9ers unless the D pitches a shut out. The only way this team wins consistently is if the D is the second coming of the Balt. D of 2000. Is it too late for the 9ers to pull off a couple of trades for O linemen? Jack what do you think?
Kyle Shanahan: The “The NFL’s Greatest Enigma”
I’m kind of a student of history, or history buff if you will, because back when I was young, I found the subject interesting, even while I found most of the other subjects we were being taught in school to be a major bore! So I’ve known a lot of people, and I’ve read about, and learned about countless people that have shaped the world’s history over generations.
And so I feel pretty confident in saying that Kyle Shanahan is the smartest, most genius person when it comes to American Football than perhaps here ever has been. He is certainly the smartest offensive football mind that I have even had the pleasure to observe over my lifetime.
An yet somehow, despite possessing an almost savant-like knowledge about a very complex sport, Kyle Shanahan simultaneously never developed an ounce of common sense \ ‘ka-men-‘sents \ , which is defined in the English dictionary as: “a good sense and sound judgment in practical matters”
And such is the “Great Enigma” of Kyle Michael Shanahan!
I feel like you submitted this post for a grade.
I am afraid we are in for a very long season. The O line couldn’t protect Jimmie G. and it looks like they can’t protect Lance.
Actually, the OL has been very much average when it comes to protecting Jimmy G. Maybe they haven’t been consistently a top 10 OL, but they have been consistently a top 15 OL since Kyle and John took over this team, and they’ve been even better than that as a run-blocking unit. The big moves they made early on, Trading for IRONMAN LG – Laken Tomlinson right before the 2017 season, turned out to be a lifesaver. And using a top 15 pick on McGlinchey shored of the RT position. He’s been an average pass-blocker, but among the better run-blocking RT is the league, since he was drafted. Plus they went out and got Weston Richburg, who was one of the best FA lineman available, and who was experienced, and pretty darn solid before he got hurt, and then last year they brought in 7 TIME PRO-BOWL Center Alex Mack.
Make no mistake, Shanahan and Lynch might not put a premium on the OG position, but they’ve always had an elite LT, and they put a premium on RT, and a focus on having a quality, experienced, Center, which makes sense because OC is supposedly the most important position for Kyle’s scheme, outside of LT.
So WHAT IN THE D_MN WORLD were they thinking, and especially KYLE, because it’s his offense, when they decided to overhaul almost their entire OL this year, with a young franchise QB coming in as a FIRST TIME STARTER, and with a bunch of unproven players who couldn’t hardly even suit up for the team last season (Banks, Moore, Brendel, McKivitz), and Justin Skule (oh my has he gone backwards) couldn’t carry Laken Tomlinson’s jock-strap?
This is absolutely ridiculous, and I feel soo bad for Trey Lance, because Tom Brady wouldn’t be able to operate behind this makeshift, patchwork JOKE of an OL they put in place this season, despite knowing that Mike McGlinchey’s health was a major concern? Heck, they even let Tom Compton walk for pennies on the dollar, even though he could at least run block really well and stay healthy.
Honestly, last night’s OL performance was sooooooo bad, thru all 4 QTRS, I can’t ever remember seeing a worse performance, preseason or not, out of an entire 49ers OL (except big Trent Williams), and I’ve been following this team religiously since the 1980’s! That’s how bad the OL is in the final tune-up before the regular season!
Now Trey Lance is getting absolutely destroyed on Social Media, and the national media, and he’s done nothing wrong. Meanwhile Jimmy G is basically immune to all of the problems, and his $25M in wasted cap space, which could have gone towards shoring up this pathetic OL, is still burning a hole in the 49ers roster, even though nobody, and I mean NOBODY wants him, including the 49ers!
In summary: This OL is in a PATHETIC situation heading into week one, and poor Trey Lance is going to get either run into the ground, or knocked out by a free running DL, perhaps on a blindside hit that Trey will never see coming, and we’ll might get to watch a repeat of 2018 and 2020, even though this is a CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER everywhere else, accept where KYLE SHANAHAN is most responsible! PATHETIC!
Oh, and don’t even get me started about undrafted OC – Keaton Sutherland, who finally got a few regular season snaps back in 2019 and was then promptly waived by the Dolphins once they say him against professional NFL players, and then was signed and waived twice by the Bengals without taking a snap!
He might be the worst OC I have ever laid eyes on, no exaggeration, so how in the world could Kyle Justify letting Keaton fricken’ Southerland snap the ball to his QB’s? I think I can play Center better than this guy, and I weigh less than 200 lbs! SMH!
I am sorry guys but this OL is ridiculously bad, and my heart hurts for Trey Lance! The kid has been set up to fail, and he’s a really good kid who deserves better!
First of all that is NOT the line we will see opening day. Second you’re sort of right. O line is our Achilles heel right now.
Jaxson,
I fully agree with you on the O line. I was and still am a JG fan but want to give Lance a fair shot before I make up my mind on him. For all of you out there who have been critical of Lance, I don’t believe you can assess him until you put an o line in front of him who aren’t the worst in the NFL. I don’t think I have seen this bad of a 49er O line since Alex Smith’s rookie year. imho
If there are fans out there who are critical of Lance based on yesterdays game, then they are not worthy of paying attention to. Obviously the O line was awful. Having said that some people (Jason) are way out of line. We haven’t even played a single regular season game. O lines always take time to jell and I’m sure they will this year but I’ll put my faith in Lynch and Shanahan over Jaxon every day of the week.
The Oline is a real concern, but this is an opportunity for Shanahan to prove that he is the offensive genius as many have called him. One thing about last night’s game to note is that the 49ers had a very vanilla game plan. Shanahan will unleash his offensive creation soon enough. I have a difficult time believing that what we saw last night is what the 49ers will roll out in September.
If Jimmy G, Sudfeld or Purdy had to play behind this Oline, I would be very concerned, but this is not the case. Lance offers much more than any of these QBs and I look for Shanahan to take full advantage of that.
Exciting times ahead.
Lance does a good job avoiding sacks and getting rid of the ball but I have been extremely disappointed in his ability to get out of the pocket and make big plays with his legs. Coming out of college he was advertised as some one who could make big runs like Mahomes, Wilson and Murray. So far when he breaks out of the pocket he is lucky to pick up 5 to 8 yards, nothing like those other 3 who seem to pick up 15 to 25 yards at least twice a game.
Coach,
You bring up a good point re Lance’s running ability. I believe that his lack of running had more to do with design. There’s no way that this team will consistently win if Lance is injured for an extended amount of time.
Trey’ run against the Packers where he had a nice slide was enough for me to confirm that he will be a weapon using his legs. In college, Lance may have tried to run over the tacklers, but this was a preseason game with much more on the line to risk an injury.
My biggest concern going into the season is that Shanahan may overuse TL’ running ability especially if the Oline struggles. Imho, the Oline will make or break the 49ers this year.
Time will tell.
purdy hit a TD late but it was dropped by a man who won’t make the team. Yes, terrible and very ugly game but keep it in perspective. We have 2 weeks to game plan and fix problems or at least minimize them.
That 3-3 start & 9-8 season Fox Sports has projected for the Niners seems just about right, given the offensive line performance last night. Awful, simply awful. Lance will be fortunate to survive the season intact & without serious injury.
If this is the Trey Lance era, why did Trey play in only three series? Trey has the tools, skills, and height to be a top NFL QB. Isn’t he the complete package (Arm strength, Ability to scramble and run, and the height to see over the line)? Isn’t this the reason why the 49ers swapped three first round draft picks and a second round pick to move up and draft him? I think the 49ers GM and Coaches believed they drafted Steve Young, John Elway, Robert Griffin III, or Matt Ryan in their prime. When you get a QB in the draft, there is a learning curve and Lance is going to make mistakes. The real question is, Does Coach Shanahan have the patience as Trey Lance will make mistakes?
Especially in a run first offense, the typical series is two RB runs, and one pass play (if it’s 3rd and long). Jimmy G had a 70% completion rate. Jimmy G probably kept maybe half of the drives going with his passes, but sometimes it ended with a completion and short of the first down marker. Will Trey Lance keep drives going and be noticeably better? I think the upside is he can make a handful of big pass plays (throwing long or running), but he’s going to make rookie mistakes. In addition, he’s inexperienced because he only has one full college football season at a lower D1 program. Lance played in six NFL games, and he hasn’t played that much in the preseason. I think Nate Sudfeld and Brock Purdy had more playing time than Lance. The 49ers backups look pretty much like Nick Mullens and CJ Beathard from yesteryear. This leads me to the conclusion that the 49ers are very disappointed that Trey Lance is not Young, Elway, Griffin III, or Ryan. Preseason is for players to get experience, especially when you are down by a TD or more. This was the perfect situation for Lance to make a big comeback against a Houston Texans team that is without Deshaun Watson. Is Coach Shanahan holding out Lance because he’s a secret weapon? Or should he be giving Lance some much needed NFL QB experience?
My predictions: If Jimmy G is on the roster in week 1, Jimmy G will be the starter at the end of the season pending an injury. If they release Jimmy G on Tuesday, Pete Carroll will pick him up, Coach Carroll will continue to poke 49ers as he has since drafting Russell Wilson in 2012. If I’m not mistaken, I believe Wilson/Carroll owns the 49ers at 16-4 (80% winning percentage) and that beats out Montana/Walsh vs. Saints at 16-5 ( 76% winning percentage).
Wes,
“If they release Jimmy G on Tuesday, Pete Carroll will pick him up, Coach Carroll will continue to poke 49ers as he has since drafting Russell Wilson in 2012.”
Your comment seems to assert that Garoppolo is on the same level as Russell Wilson. As I recall, Wilson consistently hurt us when he would run out of the pocket. Do you really believe that Jimmy G has this skill? Carroll will not have the same success that he had with Wilson, and JG is not the answer.
The Seahawks are about to become the bottom feeders in the conference.
AES,
I’m not sure what Wes meant but it seems like Carroll scoops up at least 2 players the 49ers have cut every year. He used to do it just to rub Harbaugh’s nose in it, now I think its just a habit. If you remember it used to drive Seb crazy.
Coach,
Ha! I remember it well. Seb’ big issue was that Carroll would pick up 49ers in order to glean intel. The Seahawks didn’t need intel because they had one of the best defenses in the league and Russell Wilson.
Jimmy G will be released by next Weds. The Trey Lance era has begun and there’s no looking back.
AES,
I’m not saying Jimmy G is as good as Russell Wilson because he’s an excellent QB. Because of the success Montana/Walsh had against the Saints, it rolled over to Steve Young and to some extent Jeff Garcia. There’s no doubt, the Seahawks have owned the 49ers for the last decade. Do you think Pete Carroll has a psychological advantage over the 49ers? I say Yes.
“Do you believe Jimmy G has the same skill?” I’ll say this, the Rams had a chance to eliminate the 49ers from the playoffs at the end of the regular season last year, and Jimmy G pulled a rabbit out of the hat and came from behind to win that game. I’d pick Russell Wilson over Jimmy G because I’ve witnessed Wilson dismantle the 49ers from the Harbaugh era to the Shanahan era (16-4). Do I believe Jimmy G can lead or have the same success with the Seahawks? It wouldn’t surprise me. Jimmy G won about 70% of his starts with the 49ers, and he was backup to TB12 for (I’m guessing 4 years). There’s no better seat to be a better QB than to sit in the meetings with TB12 and Belichick. Do you remember how raw Steve Young when he was drafted by Tampa Bay and LA Express. He was not a passing QB because he was a running QB. He sat behind Joe Montana for 4-5 years. He sat in the QB meetings with Walsh and Montana. Do you not think Steve Young learned anything? Do you remember his 49 yard run against the Vikings and he dove into the end zone. That was Steve Young ‘s game. When he got in trouble and chased by the DL and DE, he tucked the ball and ran. It took him years to be like Joe Cool and sit in the pocket, and pick apart zone defenses or defenses like Buddy Ryan’s 46 defense. Based on Jimmy G ‘s record as a starting QB for the 49ers and who he sat behind and watched, I think Jimmy G could lead the Seahawks to be competitive. It would be shame if Lance becomes a bust and the Seahawks had a better record than the 49ers with Jimmy G as their QB. If this happens, the 49ers will soon resemble the Erickson, Singletary, or Tomsula type 49ers teams. The top offensive and defensive stars will begin to leave, and the 49ers will be back to square one.
Wes,
Jimmy G is a good QB that should be regarded highly by 49ers fans and the FO.
But I remember that the 49ers were explicit in their plans to draft a QB after the 2020 season. Leading up to the 2021 NFL draft, we were hearing the names of Mac Jones, Zac Wilson, Justin Fields and Trey Lance as possible 49ers draft picks.
That was a telling message that Garoppolo’ days as a 49er were coming to a close.
There’s no doubt that JG is a good QB, but he’s also an injury risk and a statue in the pocket and that makes him dispensable. I know that it’s a harsh way to put it, but teams around the league do this every year with good players. A validation that Jimmy is no longer a viable option for the 49ers becomes clear in the fact that no NFL teams are lining up for his services. At this point in his career, I would venture that JG is no longer viewed as a long term option.
The Trey Lance era is here, and we don’t know what that will entail yet, but we’re going to find out in the coming weeks if the FO made the right decision.
Coach,
Ha! I remember it well. Seb’ big issue was that Carroll would pick up 49ers in order to glean intel. The Seahawks didn’t need intel because they had one of the best defenses in the league and Russell Wilson.
Jimmy G will be released by next Weds. The Trey Lance era has begun and there’s no looking back.
AES,
I hope Trey Lance becomes a great 49ers QB because I’m a huge 49ers fan and have been a part of the 49ers faithful since John Brodie, Gene Washington, Ted Kawlik, Dave Wilcox, Jimmy Johnson, and the 49ers of the 70s. In the early 80s, I’ve witnessed how Bill Walsh built his team into a 20 year dynasty. I’d rather be wrong about Trey Lance and HC Shanahan decision making on QB, and see the 49ers succeed.
Jimmy G is an excellent QB because he led the 49ers to two NFC championship games and a Superbowl appearance. His record as a 49ers starter is about a 70% winning percentage. He completes about 68-70% of his passes, and his TD to Int ratio is 2 TDs per 1 Int which is not bad compared to a lot big name QBs.
It was GM Lynch and HC Shanahan who signed Jimmy G to a huge QB contract. Who’s fault is that? Maybe they need a course in negotiation skills. They did the same to Deebo Samuels. At the end of last season, Deebo Samuels is great, we’re not going to let him go, he’s a valuable piece, he does it all, running, catching, blah, blah, blah… Well, Deebo was expecting that big contract and then they lowballed him, and he felt insulted. So he demanded a trade. So the front office has no negotiating skills and the HC wants a new QB after giving Jimmy G a huge contract.
Intel or no tell I can’t see the Seahawks going with Jimmy G. The way things are shaping up I think he ends up back in New England with a Richard Sherman (at the end) type contract where it is heavily incentive laden. Belichick knows that you have to pass to win and you have to protect your QB to pass. KS is still learning.
WC,
Jimmy G might go back to the Pats, but he would find himself playing behind Mac Jones.
I hope that he lands on his feet and latches on with a team that can give him an opportunity to start.
It’s pretty certain that Jimmy G will be playing behind someone. I think right now he is better than Jones and the Pats would have a better chance of winning as soon as JG relearns the offense. Jimmy has to go somewhere where there is a clear and quick path to being a starter and I think it’s there.
Being a run first team is a neat theory. Problem is when you have to pass, you have to be able to pass. Kyle has always depended on his trickery to get receivers open quickly but in the SB and NFC championship game we were beat by the teams that can pass when they have to pass. I mean everyone in the stadium knows they’re going to pass. IMHO Kyle’s loss in the SB is a demonstration of what I mean. He calls a 4 step drop for Matty “Lead Feet” Ryan at a crucial time and the Falcons can’t block it. I want to see Jimmy G on a team that can pass block. The rap on him not being able to throw deep is only because he has become conditioned to get the ball out too quickly. Not because he doesn’t have the arm. JG has the same arm that Joe Montana had pretty much but Joe had the time. Also I’ve seen film of him with the Pats where Jimmy completed long passes. Goodwin caught (and dropped) a few in Jimmy’s first year too. IMO, Lance is the 9ers last chance desperation attempt to do a “workaround” for not having a good pass blocking OL. I like Jimmy G’s chances if he has to compete with Jones. Both have about the same mobility and Jimmy might be a tad faster. Jimmy also brings with him a much better NFL record and a lot more experience. Belichick is old school. He picked Jones instead of one of the new wave Fran Tarkenton types. Mano a mano, Jimmy can beat out Jones and he knows the Pat’s system. I think it is his best chance to get back to starting on a competive team out of all the options. He can repeat what he did with the 49ers – Start with a low $, high incentive contract; get a chance to start; and pretty much duplicate his record when he first started out for us. Only time will tell if I’m wrong in my analysis
Sloppy, to say the least…OLine issues stick out like a sore thumb…Williams and McGlinchey didn’t play, but it appeared as though the guys on the inside and those that replaced #71 & #69 didn’t play either….the RBs Kyle drafted in round three look like longshots to be on the roster, after their performances….imagine if a Center, Guard or Tackle were drafted in those spots…perhaps not guaranteed starters, but a glaring need was attempted to be filled
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 9ers work out veteran offensive lineman John Miller.
Miller, 29, has been in the NFL for seven seasons. He was initially a member of the Bills for four seasons after they took him in the 3Rd round of the 2015 draft. From there he spent a season in Cincinnati and then joined Carolina for the last two years.
It looks like JL and KS are finally admitting what the rest of us already knew…..The O-Line is the teams weak link
that should have been addressed in the draft! TW is the only O-Lineman that doesn’t have a questions about him.
The question now is….Can the 9er FO fix the problem, or is it too late? TBD!
Kyle ‘The Captain’ Juszczyk came on for 2 plays, lit the field on fire. Had a PFF rating of 86.9, blew the opposition apart for the limited time he was on the field, obviously looked like the best player on offence while he was on the field yet doesn’t get an honory mention here. I wonder why I feel like my guy gets treated roughly sometimes.
Give Jusz more love or we riot.