HOUSTON – Hey, at least tight ends George Kittle and Jake Tonges scored touchdowns on the NFL’s so-called National Tight Ends Day.

And at least Deommodore Lenoir’s interception snapped the 49ers’ 14-game, 469-pass drought without a pick.

At the end, the 49ers didn’t have much else to celebrate, losing 26-15 Sunday to the host Texans.

The 49ers (5-3) and their skeleton crew on defense now move on to their fourth road trip in a five-game span. Next Sunday, they’ll face a New York Giants team that is 2-6 and lost rookie running back Cam Skattebo to a lower-leg injury Sunday in their 38-20 loss at Philadelphia.

The 49ers’ defensive attrition proved glaring against the Texans (3-4) and third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, who threw for 318 yards and two touchdowns even without his top wide receivers, Nico Collins and Christian Kirk.

Stroud barely got touched, even against an early barrage of blitzes. The Texans scored on six of their first seven possessions, with four short-range field goals and a 30-yard, third-down scoring strike. They didn’t punt until 4 1/2 minutes remained in the game.

Those lengthy scoring drives kept the ball away from the 49ers for over 40 minutes, leaving little time for the 49ers to rally behind quarterback Mac Jones, who made his fourth straight start and sixth this season in place of Brock Purdy.

Jones was 19-of-32 for 193 yards and tried to finish strong, but a potential touchdown heave toward Jauan Jennings instead got intercepted at the 1-yard line by Kamari Lassiter with 1 minute, 56 seconds remaining.

Christian McCaffrey’s yards-from-scrimmage dominance this season hit a roadblock in Houston: eight carries for 25 yards and three catches for 43 yards. It was his first game without 100 scrimmage yards.

The 49ers had pulled within 23-15 just before the fourth quarter, compliments of Jones’ 2-yard touchdown missile to Tonges and 2-point conversion toss to Demarcus Robinson. Setting up those points was a 25-yard, third-and-17 catch at the 2-yard line by Jennings, who earlier dropped a 45-yard bomb at the 20-yard line.

Offensive production was much easier to come by for the Texans, especially against a 49ers defense desperately seeking ways to survive the rest of this season without Nick Bosa and Fred Warner.

Three of Sunday’s starters left with injuries: linebacker Dee Winters (knee), defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (ankle) and defensive end Sam Okuayinonu, the latter of whom was carted off with an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter.

The Texans led 23-7 once Stroud beat a six-man pass rush and found Xavier Hutchinson racing by Ji’Ayir Brown for a 30-yard touchdown catch midway through the third quarter. That ended a 12-play, 94-yard, six-minute series.

Down 16-0, the 49ers came alive with last-minute theatrics before halftime, highlighted by Kittle’s 17-yard, third-down touchdown catch. Setting up that score was Brian Robinson’s 46-yard kick return – the 49ers’ longest this season – plus a 15-yard facemask penalty, followed by an 18-yard catch from Kendrick Bourne.

The half ended when Lenoir intercepted an overthrown pass near the 49ers’ sideline at their 44-yard line, and rather than step out of bounds, he ran out the final five seconds with a return to the Texans’ 33.

That snapped the 49ers’ NFL-record streak of 14 consecutive games (469 passes) without an interception, and it was Lenoir’s first since last Oct. 27.

The 49ers staked the Texans to 16-0 lead, yielding three short-range field goals and a 12-yard touchdown pass to an open Jayden Higgins (amid confusion in the secondary between Malik Mustapha, Renardo Green and Winters).

Sparking that Texans’ touchdown drive was a 44-yard shot from Stroud to Jaylin Noel, another of the young receivers filling in for Nico Collins and Christian Kirk.

 

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