Texans vs. 49ers: 5 Biggest Takeaways for San Francisco

The San Francisco 49ers played their opening preseason game last night against the Houston Texans, losing by a score of 24-13. Niner Noise takes a look at the five biggest takeaways from the game.

Like any preseason game, there were several positives and several negatives to take away. The offense looked OK (certainly in comparison to last season). But fumbles by running backs Carlos Hyde and DuJuan Harris stymied the progress.

Quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who started the game, didn’t open well missing open receivers in Hyde and wide receivers Quinton Patton and DeAndrew White with low throws. Gabbert finished just four-of-10 passing for 63 yards and a touchdown.

The first-team offense played the first three drives, and they were replaced by QB Thad Lewis, who made some nice evasive maneuvers to avoid sacks. He completed 12-of-21 passes for 97 yards, before leaving the game with an injury (which we found out today is a season-ending torn ACL).

Third-string QB Jeff Driskel came into the game and used his legs effectively, running five times for 61 yards. His passing wasn’t as effective – just four-of-12 passing for 20 yards.

Fellow QB Colin Kaepernick did not suit up due to a sore throwing shoulder. Other players who did not participate were defensive linemen Arik Armstead (shoulder) and Glenn Dorsey (knee), safety Eric Reid (birth of child), and wide receiver DeAndre Smelter.

What other things did we learn from this game?

Next: Chip Kelly's offense showed promise