49ers Notebook: Slow start dooms San Francisco against Texans; Lenoir explains INT mistake; Time to regroup

If the 2025 season has been a roller coaster ride for the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans would represent the train reaching the bottom of one of the ride's steepest hills.

The depths of that plunge weren't quite as dramatic as those reached when the 49ers lost linebacker Fred Warner to a season-ending injury in their Week 6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the 26-15 loss at NRG Stadium in Houston was one of the most demoralizing moments of the season nonetheless. It was hard to see this coming considering the 49ers were riding high following a win over the Atlanta Falcons last week while the Texans were on a short week after a Monday night loss in Seattle, but the Texans were largely dominant on both sides of the ball in a game that often felt like it wasn't competitive, marking a change for a 49ers team that has at the very least consistently put up a fight in every game this season.

"I feel like every game we've played when I'm back there, we've had a chance," said quarterback Mac Jones, who took his second loss as the team's starter while filling in for the injured Brock Purdy. "And today, I just didn't feel like we had a chance."

In this version of 49ers Notebook, we'll talk about where things went wrong early for the 49ers against the Texans, as well as revisit a mistake at the end of the first half that should have been a much happier moment. Plus, we'll see what the 49ers said about where things go from here and more. Let's get started...

Over not long after it started?

Sunday's game felt ominous from the get-go for the 49ers, who gave up a nearly ten-minute field goal drive to start the game before a quick punt on their first possession. The 49ers' offense followed that with two three-and-outs, while the Texans put together three more scoring drives to take a 16-0 lead.

The offense could have created a spark after the opening field goal if they were able to put points on the board, but they stumbled out of the gate with two penalties before a punt back to the Texans with four plays. Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne mentioned that early possession, which also included a penalty on the Texans, as a "weird" start to the game that threw the 49ers out of sync.

"Just no rhythm," said Bourne, who had three catches for 44 yards in the loss. "We started the game with like three penalties, four penalties or something like that. It was just weird. But we knew they were a reffing crew that called illegal formation, things like that. So just getting set, little details -- we've just got to be on the details more urgently."

Did the sleepy start to the game have anything to do with the fact that the 49ers were playing earlier in the day than they usually do? Bourne suggested the kickoff time (1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific) did throw a little bit of a twist into things, at least in the early going.

"It was an early game so it was a different kind of feel for us," Bourne said. "It's just a kind of 'get up and go' game. So we've got to get up and be ready. It's a different time. Not to make an excuse or anything, but we're up earlier. We don't practice at that time, so it's a different challenge that we've got to be ready for if we get another opportunity like that."

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said the team's effort was there, but his postgame comments also made it seem like things were a bit off.

"There's no place in particular where I was questioning anybody's effort. I'll be able to see the more detail when I get on the plane," Shanahan said. "I feel collectively just as a whole, I wish I felt our team a little bit more today (in the early going). There was nothing where I saw guys loafing or anything like that. But it's a little easier for me to see when I study the tape."

Whatever the reason may have been, the 49ers will have to come out stronger next week on the road against the New York Giants, a game that will have another early kickoff time. Safety Ji'Ayir Brown says the 49ers will be ready regardless of when the ball is in the air.

"We're going to suit this thing up. It's time to go, no matter if we've got to play 10 o'clock at night, eight o'clock in the morning," Brown said. "I believe these guys, they're ready to go. No, I'm not looking at the time difference, even though that may play a factor in most teams. Everybody deals with that. So we're not trying to make no excuses on time or all that, because every team deals with that. The Falcons had to deal with that last week. We're going to have to deal with that next week. We just check those off as things we've got to deal with."

Not the way they wanted to end that streak

The 49ers finally got an interception on Sunday, ending a bizarre streak that saw them go without one for an NFL-record 14 games. It was certainly good news to see that streak come to an end, but the way it happened left something to be desired.

The 49ers had just added a late first-half touchdown to the scoreboard when the Texans decided to make something happen on offense just seconds before the half. But on the final play of the half, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was picked off by cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, who returned the ball into field goal range but didn't get down quick enough to stop the clock and set up an attempt.

Had Lenoir been able to get down or get out of bounds with time on the clock, the 49ers could have kicked a field goal to make the game 16-10 at the half. But Lenoir told reporters Sunday he was trying to get more than that because he thought it would give the 49ers the best chance to win.

"It was really just I was trying to score," Lenoir said. "I should have slid. I wasn't aware how much time was left on the clock, but I just (saw) the end zone and I was trying to score (and) put us in a good position to be able to win the game."

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan applauded the interception but said it will serve as a valuable teaching moment for Lenoir.

"It'll be good stuff for us to review with him," Shanahan said. "I think it's tough. It's 11 seconds before the play, so we need awareness of that when it happens. When you catch it by the sidelines, I think he has time to look to score. But I think once we can't, we've got to get down immediately. So, I think it is a little greedy, just getting on him for that.

"I thought it was a hell of a play by D-Mo. It was nice to break that stretch that we've had of not getting a pick. But it'll be a good learning situation to cover with all our guys tomorrow."

Unhappy reunion

Mac Jones and Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson know each other from their days at the University of Alabama, where they were part of a national championship squad in 2020.

On Sunday, they met up once again, albeit not in a way Jones would have preferred.

Anderson was a thorn in the side of Jones and the 49ers' offense all day, as he tallied 10 quarterback pressures, one sack and three quarterback hits.

"I've known Will for six, seven years or whatever it is now, and I have a lot of respect for him," Jones said Sunday. "And every time I play against him, you've got to have a plan for him, but they definitely had our number today."

Anderson's performance was part of a defensive effort that held the 49ers to 223 total yards, with just 48 of those yards coming on the ground.

"They do what they do," Jones said. "They've done the same thing the past five years. They're really good though. They've all played together for a long time and I've got a lot of respect for those guys. I've gone against them three times in the last year and every time I've left the field, I thought they were the best defense in the NFL. So, we've had a couple of those these past couple weeks and really it's about us, to be honest. When we do what we do, I think it can be pretty good. When we don't, that's what you get."

What comes next

The 49ers now face an important road game against the Giants, a team that fell to 2-6 with a 38-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The Giants on paper are one of the worst teams remaining on the schedule for the 49ers, but with injuries continuing to pile up and a deflating loss to the Texans to bounce back from, coming out of the East Coast with a win might be easier said than done.

Shanahan says the players need to walk into team facilities on Monday with a chip on their shoulder in order to recover from their latest defeat.

"I was real disappointed in how we looked for all four quarters," Shanahan said. "The first half was unacceptable and the second half didn't get much better. So, not much to say about it, except that we'll look at it on the plane and figure out all the things that we know we can correct and that we did mess up. But I expect the guys to come in tomorrow with a chip on their shoulder ready to get back to work."

Tight end George Kittle says he follows the "24-hour rule," which in this case means players should take 24 hours to get over a loss before shifting all their focus to next week.

"I'm a big 24-hour rule guy," Kittle said. "Whoever started that was a genius. You can be sad and depressed about it for 24 hours and let it go, because you can't do anything to change it. All you can do is learn from it. And so that's all we're going to do, I hope.

"There's opportunity all over the football field. There is. There is so many places to learn from it. It's a humbling sport. Look yourself in the mirror, what did I do wrong, what can I get better at? But like if it's something that you're just going to like let anchor you down, then that's going to be tough football for us moving forward. So hopefully we have guys that can let it go after our meeting tomorrow, and we can move into Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday with a fresh start. And yeah, hopefully there's a chip on our shoulder. Hopefully we go run around and practice hard, and I think we will. We have the right guys in the building, we have aggressive guys in the building, guys that want to win."

Maybe the 49ers will be able to add some help before the November 4 trade deadline and bring in a healthy player or two that might raise morale. But either way, the players seem ready to head into next week and beyond with the players they currently have.

"Would you have asked me that last week when we held the Atlanta Falcons to 10 points? I don't think so," Kittle said Sunday when asked about the trade deadline. "So, I mean, I think we have the right guys."

Brown felt the same, saying, "I believe in the guys we've got, no matter if Fred (injured linebacker Fred Warner) or Nick's (injured defensive end Nick Bosa) out there. I believe in every guy who was out there on that field today, and I believe we can get it done with those guys."