We can only take so much from the first preseason game, and normally we have to temper expectations. However, when it comes to the offense, what we saw today would indicate a much more high volume offense than last year.
Fun pre-season stats: The @49ers averaged 304 yards on 60 plays per game last year. In the 1st half tonight they had 302 yards on 50 plays
— Ryan McGrady (@RyanMcGrady) August 15, 2016
The 49ers had 302 yards in the first half, and 107 in the second half. The 302 first half yards resulted in 13 points, due to a pair of turnovers. When you fumble the ball away inside the opponent’s five, that’s not really a good thing.
We don’t know how the 49ers offense will do from a scoring perspective. That is the most important thing when it comes to offense, and as we saw today, turnovers could be crushing at times. But for now, we at least know this team is going to be throwing up some crazy volume when it comes to plays and potentially yardage.
The volume against the Texans came primarily from the running game. The 49ers had 236 yards on the ground, vs. 173 yards through the air. It is worth noting that 89 of the rushing yards came from the quarterbacks. The running backs averaged 6.6 yards per carry, led by 72 yards from Mike Davis. Carlos Hyde had 27 yards on five carries, and Shaun Draughn, first off the bench behind Hyde, had 12 yards on two carries.
The passing game was woefully inaccurate for much of the game. Thad Lewis had the best completion percentage, completing 12 of 21 passes, but he also finished with 97 yards thanks to a lot of short throws. It’s safe to say the 49ers need to see improvement from the passing game, but it was a strong start from the ground game. It gives the team something to build on as we move forward into the second preseason game next Saturday.