SANTA CLARA – Here are the ups and downs as the 49ers trailed the Houston Texans 7-3 at halftime in their home finals:
Trey Lance’s first home start didn’t get off to an impressive start, and after three mediocre streaks he started fourth possession with an interception. That ruined her best opening field position (from her 45 yard line).
But Lance and the 49ers avoided a shutout in the first half thanks to a last-minute drive topped off by Robbie Gould’s 37-yard field goal after time ran out.
This ride started with a 17 yard finish for Deebo Samuel (and a subsequent delay penalty for the Texans). Lance missed Samuel’s open downfield, but a 27-yard catch-and-run on Brandon Aiyuk put her on Mitchell’s 26th hands near the sideline.
Lance is 10-out-of-13 for 105 yards and a 67.8 pass rating. All four of his carries (14 yards) came from the first two possession, and he shot Justin Reid in the ribs on one of those runs.
When intercepted, Lance waited too long and threw Kittle down on the left, allowing Desmond King to snap the 22-yard pass.
Lance completed his previous five passes (46 yards), including 12-yard hits at Brandon Aiyuk, Trent Sherfield, and Jauan Jennings. He also missed a couple of open receivers along the way, which it turned out isn’t just for a Garoppolo start.
At 1:26 before halftime, after a three-and-off series, Lance and the offense headed for the bench amid boos from the restless 49ers Faithful. A Texan three-and-off gave the Niners another chance at a final drive.
Garoppolo watched from the 49ers sideline in black sweatpants with an earpiece to overhear the game calls sent to Lance.
The return of rookie Elijah Mitchell after a three-game break kicked off and with a solid workload. He has 38 yards on seven carries, and while showing some nice bursts, he was stopped with a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-one on second possession.
Mitchell found more free lanes than Deebo Samuel, who had four carries for 10 yards and was only targeted with a pass from Lance 1 1/2 minutes before half-time (1 yard closure).
Linebacker Fred Warner has a busy day with 10 tackles at halftime and one with a 2 yard loss.
Things didn’t go as well as he tried to get Brandin Cooks on third and scoring from 8:57 to half time.
As solid as the 49ers ‘defense was, the Texans wisely tried to overtake the third and short pass at’ 21-yard line at third-and-3, about 5 minutes before half-time.
In the subsequent third-and-1 snap by the Texans, they avoided the pass and let Rex Burkhead run onto the 7 for a 5 yard win.
Thomas produced back-to-back tackles within the 10 – with no profit and for a 1 yard loss – to set up third and the goal of the 8 when Mills found Cooks for the touchdown.
Arik Armstead and Samson Ebukam shared a sack of mills a minute before half-time to halt the Texans’ drive and force a punt 48 seconds before the end that allowed the 49ers to scoring drive at the last minute .
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Both teams went 3 and out for failing to get a first down on their first possession. After Marcell Harris’ third down tackle forced the Texans to punt, the 49ers took on their own 22, and Lance was cheered by the crowd on his first home start. What followed: runs from Mitchell (2 yards), Samuel (minus-2 yards) and Lance scrambling outside of limits to take a 6 yard gain on third and 10th.
Samson Ebukam’s tackle for a 1-yard loss forced the Texans’ next streak to another 3-and-out. They competed with an NFL high of 46 properties that went 3-and-out.
In three series, the 49ers defended 22 yards in 11 games and tackles for the loss came from Jones, Ebukam and Fred Warner.
The Texans’ fourth streak also ended in three-and-off mode, with rookie cornerback Ambry Thomas playing a third and second pass well until he dropped a potential interception and pick six.
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