The Texans opened 2015 preseason with a 23-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers Saturday night at NRG Stadium. Houston controlled time of possession and held the ball for 40:06, compared to 19:54 for the 49ers. The Texans had over 400 yards of total offense.
Brian Hoyer, who started at quarterback in his first game as a Texan, played just one series that resulted in a touchdown. Hoyer was 2-of-4 for 67 yards with one touchdown, and a 135.4 passer rating. He exited the game after the ensuing two-point play.
Ryan Mallett finished the rest of the first half, completing 10-of-11 passes for 90 yards on four drives. Tom Savage, under center for entire second half, completed 8-of-14 for 97 yards and one touchdown.
J.J. Watt, Vince Wilfork, and Johnathan Joseph dressed for the game but did not see action.
The rest of the defensive starters played just series before exiting the game.
Colin Kaepernick played just one series for San Francisco, completing 1-of-3 passes for 14 yards. Blaine Gabbert, who took over until early in the third quarter, was 8-of-11 and threw for 86 yards with the 49ers lone touchdown of the day.
Three first-year players had sacks: defensive end Tevita Finau, and outside linebackers Kortnei Brown and Jason Ankrah. Brown added two sacks in the third quarter while Ankrah's resulted in a safety.
The Texans running backs were led by Alfred Blue who rushed for 59 yards on 9 attempts in the first half. Rookie Kenny Hilliard had 13 carries for 39 yards. Chris Polk added 29 yards rushing and led the Texans receivers with three catches for 39 yards.
On the opening drive, Hoyer led the Texans offense to an early 8-0 lead. Cecil Shorts III caught a 58-yard touchdown pass following an eight-play, 87-yard drive. Houston went for two points and succeeded with Hoyer completing a pass to DeAndre Hopkins.
Ryan Mallett was under center for the Texans second offensive series. Mallett led the offense 74 yards to the one-yard line but was unable to score after four consecutive running plays.
Tom Savage entered the game in the second half. The second-year quarterback scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass to rookie Jaelen Strong. Running back Chris Polk added a 25-yard gain on the seven-play, 58-yard drive. The Texans regained the lead, 15-10.
Savage orchestrated two long fourth-quarter scoring drives that both resulted in 41-yard field goals by Randy Bullock, to give Houston a 23-10 lead. San Francisco had just two offensive series in the final quarter, the second of which ended with an interception caught by rookie safety Kurtis Drummond.
The Texans will next host the Denver Broncos in their second preseason game.
View photos from the 49ers-Texans game at NRG Stadium on August 15th.
