HOUSTON (AP) — When the San Francisco 49ers finally picked up a first down Sunday against the Houston Texans they were already down by 16 points and there was less than a minute left in the first half.

They did better on offense after that, but their bad start proved too much to overcome in a 26-15 loss .

“First half was tough because we had like 12 plays in the first half until that last drive,” veteran tight end George Kittle said. “We didn’t do anything to help our defense in the entire first half.”

Houston got the ball first and scored on its first four possessions while the 49ers (5-3) punted on each of their first three drives to fall into the early hole. Kittle said it was impossible to get a rhythm early with so few plays.

“They completely took us out of it,” he said. “We cou

See Full Page