There was one piece of great news coming out of the 49ers’ preseason game Thursday night against the Houston Texans.
Here it is: The 49ers’ preseason is over.
“It was pretty rough,” coach Kyle Shanahan said following the 49ers’ 17-0 loss to the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. “We didn’t play clean at all.”
The next order of business for the 49ers is to arrive at their initial 53-man roster by the deadline at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Then, all the focus shifts to the regular-season opener on Sept. 11 against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
But, first, let’s file our grades from a thoroughly forgettable August night:
Rushing offense
Things started off very well for Trey Sermon, who is competing for a spot in the 49ers’ backfield. He tore off a 12-yard run. After that, the 49ers’ running game did not have any success. Sermon had 20 yards on eight rushing attempts. As a team, the 49ers gained 51 yards on 24 rushing attempts.
Jeff Wilson Jr. made the start and had 16 yards on three carries. The 49ers have some difficult decisions at running back to see who makes the team. Elijah Mitchell is the clear No. 1. After that, it’s a toss up with Sermon, Wilson, Ty Davis-Price and JaMycal Hasty.
Grade: F
Passing offense
The 49ers’ offensive line did not did not generate many holes in the running game, and the pass protection was pretty rough, too.
Trey Lance completed seven of 11 pass attempts for 49 yards. Brock Purdy had some moments, but he threw an interception. Nate Sudfeld also was picked off once.
The 49ers could have avoided the shutout, but veteran receiver Willie Snead dropped an easy touchdown pass from Purdy in the end zone in the closing seconds.
Grade: F
Rushing defense
The Texans managed to run the ball effectively, which is understandable considering the 49ers played this game without linebackers Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair. The Texans rolled up 156 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Segun Olubi was the 49ers’ leader with eight tackles.
Grade: C-minus
Passing defense
Rookie cornerback Sam Womack was called for pass interference in the end zone, but he later came up with a pass deflection that Tarvarius Moore turned into an interception in the end zone.
Samson Ebukam, Jordan Willis and Charles Omenihu each registered a sack in the game. Texans quarterback Davis Mills completed six of 10 pass attempts for just 58 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Grade: B
Special teams
There’s not a whole lot to see here . . . except wide receiver Malik Turner, who made a case for a roster spot based entirely on his play on special teams. Turner made a big play on special teams for a second game in a row with a bone-jarring tackle.
Grade: C
Coaching
The 49ers made it through three preseason games without injuries to their key players. The list of DNPs was 16 names long on Thursday, as many of their top defensive players sat this one out.
RELATED: 'Sporadic' 49ers O-line struggles in preseason finale
Neither starting offensive tackle suited up, and Shanahan did no game-planning for this game. Therefore, we’ll look the other way and, as the coach said, we’re “not going to make too much out of it.”
Grade: C
Overall
Yes, this is only the preseason. And, yes, this was completely unwatchable.
Grade: F
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49ers report card: Grades for offense, defense in preseason loss to Texans - NBC Sports
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