49ers vs. Texans: Grading San Francisco’s efforts

Special teams

In a season that has already seen double digit losses, the one bright spot has been the reliability of the special teams unit. Punter Bradley Pinion did badly shank one of his kicks. But that was the only mistake.

Pinion averaged 40.1 yards per punt and had a long of 54 yards. The real star though, once again, was kicker Robbie Gould. For the second consecutive game, Gould was perfect as he finished 4-4 on field goals. It is the fifth time this season Gould has made three or more field goals in a game.

Grade: A

Coaching

In back-to-back games, we have gotten glimpses of what head coach Kyle Shanahan can do with a real quarterback. No disrespect to C.J. Beathard, but Garoppolo is significantly better than the rookie.

We have seen that Shanahan’s scheme can produce results, even with limited parts on the offense. The 49ers out-gained the Texans 416 yards to 311 yards, and once again dominated time-of-possession (34:49 to 25:11).

It was a close game until San Francisco scored 13 unanswered points, which is due in part to the coaches.

Grade: B

Next: NFL free agency: 5 players the 49ers should target in 2018

Two starts, two wins in the Jimmy Garoppolo Era. It almost seems too good to say, but it is true — the 49ers are inching toward a spot of promise.