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“Head coach Kyle Shanahan immediately after the game told reporters the only two injury issues during the game were with left tackle Trent Williams and linebacker Marcell Harris.”
Trey Lance isn’t polished, but he changes the ceiling for the 49ers offense
“....Lance, as unpolished as he is in his current state, adds an element to the San Francisco offense which has not existed before. He can launch the ball to areas of the field which Garoppolo doesn’t even think about.”
Here are the wild-card scenarios as 49ers head into final week of season
“The 49ers took care of business, but the Carolina Panthers did not.... San Francisco will have to wait another week to find out if they’ve clinched a playoff berth, needing a win vs. the Rams in Los Angeles in the final week of the season to guarantee a trip to the postseason. “
“The 49ers probably could not have beaten a lot of teams with their overall offensive performance on Sunday... All they had to do was beat the Texans. And that’s exactly what they did.”
Branch: 49ers’ Trey Lance does enough to beat Texans, but doesn’t unseat Jimmy Garoppolo (paywall)
“In fairness to Lance, the bar was high. But there was some thought the 21-year-old, big-armed dual-threat QB could channel Kaepernick and elevate the scrapping-for-the-playoffs 49ers (9-7) into a title contender if they reached the postseason based on his performance at the NFL’s most influential position.... Instead, the 49ers scored three points in the first 39 minutes against a 4-13 team that was a 14-point underdog and had the NFL’s 30th-ranked defense before the third overall pick officially found his footing.”
Branch: 49ers’ game review vs. Texans: More will be needed in order to beat the Rams (paywall)
“The 49ers probably can’t beat the Rams (12-4) on the road with Lance starting, right? Wrong. They beat the Rams with Nick Mullens starting the last time they played at Los Angeles. The 49ers own the Rams, but it would be a good idea to have a more complete performance in their next meeting. You know, just to be safe.”
Thompson: Holy cow, Kyle Shanahan — this is all on your shoulders now (paywall)
“Indeed, Week 18 will require a top-shelf performance from Shanahan. No matter which quarterback starts, they will only be as good as Shanahan allows them to be. From preparation, to his play-calling, to his weekly bouts with conservatism, it’s all riding on Shanahan. And even if the 49ers head into game No. 17 knowing they are making the postseason, how they fare in the postseason will also hinge on which Shanahan the 49ers get.”
Kawakami: Trey Lance is the 49ers’ fast-forward button this season (paywall)
“Everybody knows that Lance is immensely talented. Big arm. Mobile. Good improviser. He can do things that Garoppolo and most other NFL quarterbacks can’t. But how would Lance hold up under late-season pressure? Could he work through a problem? Would he bounce back from a mistake or compound it with another and then another?”
“The outing was no roaring success for Lance. Early on, he looked a lot like he did against the Cardinals, holding onto the ball too long and making a dubious decision — what Kyle Shanahan later called a “bad interception” — on an attempt to Kittle on one side of the field when Samuel was open on the other side.... still, the big takeaway from Sunday was that the rookie made progress, both from his Oct. 10 game in Arizona and throughout the day against the Texans.”
“With all the noise surrounding Jimmy Garoppolo’s health, Trey Lance’s development and the 49ers’ plan at quarterback in the week leading up to Sunday’s 23-7 win over the Texans, it was easy to forget that the team’s defense also faced a pivotal challenge.”
“Lance averaged the most air yards per attempt (11.5) and threw for the most yards on 10-plus air yards passes (205) by any 49ers quarterback in a game over the last three seasons, according to Next Gen Stats.”
‘That scared the hell out of me’: Encounter with kid during 49ers-Texans shocked Kyle Shanahan
“I didn’t know if it was my son at first or what, but it startled me a little bit. Then I realized it was a kid. I’ve never seen a kid run on the field. So then I said, ‘Wow, man. How did you get down here?’ Then security got him. I wish I was able to give him something.”
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