49ers Earn Second Straight Win On Sunday Over Texans 26-16

With Jimmy Garoppolo as their main man taking snaps, the San Francisco 49ers earned their second straight win of the season with a 26-16 effort over the Houston Texans, pushing their record up to 3-10 ahead of week 15.

The win marked the first time since 2014 the team won back-to-back road games, harkening back to their Nov. 9 27-24 overtime win in New Orleans and their 16-10 win over the New York Giants just one week later at MetLife Stadium.

Colin Kaepernick was the quarterback for the 49ers during those two wins. Four starting quarterbacks later and Garoppolo has found himself in a similar, successful situation.

Although the teams tied 16-16 late in the third quarter, Garoppolo connected with tight end Garrett Celek for a 61-yard catch. This setup another connection for a 6-yard touchdown pass to put the 49ers ahead by seven at the start of the fourth quarter.

Kicker Robbie Gould, who went 4 for 4 with field goals, hit his fourth in the fourth quarter to complete to the 10-point victory.

Garoppolo completed 20 of 33 passes at NRG Stadium in Houston for 334 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

His favorite target was Marquise Goodwin, who caught six passes for 106 yards.

Although the run game was shut down through most of the meeting, running back Carlos Hyde rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown in 14 carries.

The same success can’t be said on the other side, as Houston’s quarterback Tom Savage went down in the second quarter after Elvis Dumervil delivered a hit as he was throwing incomplete on a third-down play.

Savage, who was 6 for 12 for 63 yards, was replaced by T.J. Yates. Yates had better success by completing 14 of 26 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns.

According to NBC Sports, here were some key notes for the game:

–-Linebacker Reuben Foster was shaken up after Texans running back Lamar Miller drilled him on a blitz pickup in the second quarter on a third-down play. Foster remained down for a minute before jogging off the field. It appeared the wind was knocked out of him. He was back on the next series and did not miss a snap.

–Former Texans defensive lineman Earl Mitchell made an impact early in the game when he stopped Miller for a 2-yard loss on a fourth-and-1 play from the 49ers’ 40-yard line.

–Right tackle Trent Brown was declared inactive for the game after going through limited practice last week with a shoulder condition. Veteran guard Zane Beadles started at right tackle.

–The 49ers activated defensive linemen Aaron Lynch and Tank Carradine and deactivated Ronald Blair, Leger Douzable and D.J. Jones.

–The 49ers have gone 10 games without scoring a touchdown in the first quarter.

San Francisco will be heading back home to Levi’s Stadium on Sunday to face off against the Tennessee Titans (8-5). Kickoff is at 1:25pm PST.

Houston will be traveling to Jacksonville to compete with their conference-opponent Jaguars (9-4). Their game is scheduled to begin at 10:00am PST.

Newsletter