The San Francisco 49ers have a first preseason game under their belt, dropping a 23-10 loss to the Houston Texans. There were plenty of notable moments, with Jarryd Hayne the most notable. He 63 rushing yards, 24 punt return yards and 33 kickoff return yards. He showed some nice moves, solid vision, and strength. It is not enough to lock up a roster spot at this point, but it was as strong a debut as we could have expected.
The defense got off to a slow start, but that goal line stand is something to build on. The defensive line struggled at times outside of that, with Alfred Blue breaking off some big runs. I have a hunch opposing offenses will test that line against the run quite frequently. The 49ers run defense was historically good at times during the Vic Fangio era. With so many replacements in the front seven, it will be interesting to see how opposing offenses approach that group.
The secondary left something to be desired at times. They struggled turning around to spot the ball, with the starters just not quite there to make plays. It's only one preseason game, so we'll see if and how they bounce back next week at home against the Dallas Cowboys.
On to the links!
Recaps
Gabbert, Hayne shine in preseason loss (Biderman)
Hayne soars in 49ers’ debut; who else stood out Saturday? (Barrows)
49ers preseason report card: Week 1 vs. Texans (Gin)
49ers Preseason Week 1: Stock up/down (Gin)
What We Learned from 49ers vs. Texans (49ers.com)
Instant Replay: 49ers lose preseason opener in Houston (Maiocco)
49ers Drop Preseason Opener to Texans, 23-10 (49ers.com)
49ers vs. Texans Highlights (49ers.com video)
Postgame notes: Kaepernick deep pass scripted; defense proud of goal-line stand; Celek gets only TD (Inman)
49ers Rookies Deliver Strong NFL Debuts in Houston (49ers.com)
Rugby star Jarryd Hayne puts on show for San Francisco 49ers in debut (Gutierrez)
49ers beat: Blaine Gabbert opens eyes in opener (Branch)
49ers-Texans grades (Cohn)
5 takeaways from 49ers-Texans (Cohn)
Jim Tomsula
Jim Tomsula Recaps Game 1 of Preseason (49ers.com video)
4 Postgame Notes from Jim Tomsula After 23-10 Loss to Houston (49ers.com)
Tomsula unhappy 'with a lot of things' in 49ers' second half (Maiocco)
Jarryd Hayne
Jarryd Hayne makes case with strong 49ers debut (Maiocco)
Jarryd Hayne reacts to his NFL debut: ‘I felt a huge weight lifted’ (Inman)
Teammates, Tomsula chime in on Jarryd Hayne’s eye-opening debut with 49ers (Inman
Jarryd Hayne: I wanted to look like an NFL player (Gutierrez
Australian rugby star Hayne sizzles in 49ers debut (NFL.com)
Jarryd Hayne Happy with his NFL Debut (49ers.com video)
Jarryd Hayne a standout for 49ers in exhibition loss to Texans (Branch)