Niners Oust Texans for Second Straight Win

Week 14 - With the (2-10) San Francisco 49ers heading into Week 14 coming off their first road victory of the season and second win overall, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the new-look Niners would head into Houston in search of their first pair of back to back road victories since 2014 and first multi-game winning-streak under rookie head coach Kyle Shanahan. A week after setting a franchise record for the most passing yards by a 49ers QB making his debut, Garoppolo would set a career-high in that same category on Sunday against a good Texans defense that has been without its captain in J.J. Watt since Week 5.

Getting off to yet another slow start on offense, San Francisco would fail to score a first quarter touchdown for a ninth consecutive game as Houston jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to a career-long 55-yard field goal from kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn. Threatening to answer with a score of their own, the 49ers offense would march to the Houston 34-yard line before Garoppolo was picked-off for the second time of his career on a botched play by he and receiver Trent Taylor who stopped and turned instead of cutting like Garoppolo had anticipated. Sunday's game would also turn out to be another busy one for Niners kicker Robbie Gould who followed up a five field goal performance a week ago against the Bears which helped him take home NFC Special-teams Player of the Week honors for Week 13, with four more made field goals in this one. With the game tied at 3 with less than three minutes remaining in the second quarter, both teams would exchange touchdowns just before the half. Ignited by a pair of big receptions by 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk who hauled in passes of 29 and 31 yards, running back Carlos Hyde put the finishing touches on the successful drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown.

Houston would be quick to answer on their ensuing possession led by an impressive nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive orchestrated by third-string QB T.J. Yates who would enter the game in place of the injured Tom Savage. Savage would leave the game in the 2nd quarter after suffering a concussion following a hard hit on third down by 49ers defensive-end Elvis Dumervil. It would be a scary moment as the Texans QB was seen lying on the ground with his hands twitching in what some experts fear was a possible seizure. Making matters worse, Savage would return on Houston's following possession, taking three more snaps before having to punt on a three and out. Savage would try making his way back onto the field one possession later before being stopped by a member of the medical staff who would escort him to the locker room, putting an end to his day. Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins would haul in his first of two touchdown receptions on the afternoon to bring Houston within a point with under a minute remaining. And while it appeared both teams would head into the half even at 10-points apiece, Houston would fail to convert on the extra-point as Fairbairn's kick went wide left. San Francisco would have other plans as Carlos Hyde crept into enemy territory with a 31-yard run on the first play of the ensuing drive. Garoppolo would move the ball another 31-yards in three plays before setting up Robbie Gould for a 35-yard field goal to help San Francisco jump out to a 13-9 lead at halftime.

Opening the second half, the Texans offense would pick up right where they left off in quarter number two as Yates and Hopkins connected once again in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown from 29-yards out. Unfortunately for them, it would be the last time Houston would score as they were shutout in the 4th quarter and watched as the 49ers put up 13 unanswered-points. After a field goal to tie it, tight-end Garrett Celek would break a tackle and turn up the field for a 61-yard completion that would set up Garoppolo's second touchdown of the season as he appropriately awarded Celek by throwing to him near the goal-line. Things would settle down as a series of punts from both teams kept it a one-possession game before a costly fumble by DeAndre Hopkins allowed San Francisco to take a double-digit lead as Robbie Gould registered just another day at the office by converting on his fourth field goal of the day. The Texans would get as close to the San Francisco 34-yard line to set up Fairbairn for a 52-yard field goal to make it a one-score game, but his kick would crash into the left upright, sealing the 26-16 win to make it two in a row for Shanahan and the Niners.

With the win, Garoppolo improves his career record to 4-0, becoming just the second QB in the last 13 seasons to win his first four starts, joining Broncos QB Trevor Siemian (2016). Jimmy G. finished with a career-best 334 passing yards in Sunday's win, giving him 627 yards in his first two starts in a Niner uniform, the most by a 49ers QB in the team's history since the merger in 1970. Meanwhile, the team improves to 3-10 on the season after logging their first winning-streak since a three-game win-streak in Weeks 10-12 in 2014. Along with Garoppolo, the accurate kicking of Robbie Gould has played a huge role in San Francisco posting back to back road wins for the first time since the Jim Harbaugh era as Gould has now connected on 14 straight field goals for the second time this season after beginning the year having made 15 straight. 49ers receiver Marquise Goodwin also seems to be enjoying his new quarterback under center as the speedy Goodwin has caught 14 passes for 205 yards with Garoppolo as the starter, including a team-high 106 yards on Sunday and trailing only DeAndre Hopkins' 11 grabs and 149 yards for the game. Running back Carlos Hyde finished with 78 yards on 14 carries to lead all rushers and the 49er defense held Texans back Lamar Miller to only 53 yards on the ground in 17 attempts.

Week 15 Preview - Next on the schedule for the 49ers is a home game against the (8-5) Tennessee Titans who are currently in the AFC playoff picture for the second Wild Card but are coming off a 12-7 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Returning to Levi's Stadium for what will be the first home start for QB Jimmy Garoppolo since joining the Niners, Jimmy G. and company will welcome the struggling Marcus Mariota who has already thrown for more interceptions this year (14) than he did in either of his first two seasons, while also nursing a banged up left knee. But Mariota won't be the only one the Niner defense will have to keep tabs on as the unpredictable but dangerous running back tandem of DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry look to bounce back from a disappointing performance in Sunday's loss as they combined to rush for just 54 yards on 19 carries. Sunday's game will also see the return of former 49er tight-end Delanie Walker who spent his first 7 seasons with the Niners before signing with Tennessee in 2013 where he's developed into one of the league's better tight-ends and has been named to a pair of Pro Bowl's since joining the Titans. With Tennessee trailing the (9-4) Jacksonville Jaguars who currently lead the AFC South by a game, the 49ers could play spoiler down the stretch with a win on Sunday, and could also put a dent in Jacksonville's hopes to lock up the No. 1 overall seed as they'll make a trip to Levi's the following week.


Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest