Texans, 49ers hold joint practice ahead of preseason opener

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Texans have hit the road for training camp, holding a joint workout Friday morning in Santa Clara with the San Francisco 49ers.

The two teams worked out for over two hours at the 49ers practice facility located next door to Levi’s Stadium, where they will open the preseason on Sunday.

The Texans and Niners enjoyed temperatures in the low 80s with no humidity. The Texans were out of the heat, but the work never stopped.

“It was good. It’s always good to get against another team,” said head coach Bill O’Brien.

“Chip (Kelly) was great. Very good team to work with, work against. Very professional. We had a ton of snaps – special teams, offense, defense, a lot of situations. I thought it was a really good day for both teams,” O’Brien added.

The Texans and 49ers went through 16 extended periods during practice. Houston's No. 1 offense went up against San Francisco’s No. 1 defense, as well as all of the backups getting in plenty of work.

The Texans defense had one interception and Kareem Jackson recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown.

Quarterback Brock Oweiler did well most of the practice, although he did throw one interception on a ball intended for DeAndre Hopkins. Mostly, though, he and Hopkins were on the same page. Rookie receiver Will Fuller also stood out, as did rookie tight end Stephen Anderson.

“There’s guys out there competing for a job just like we are, and it’s great. It sharpens everything up,” said Hopkins after practice.

Osweiler added, “Yeah, the intensity cranked up a little bit, as you would expect. We’re getting that much closer to a game and just to line up against a different opponent, I think your juices get flowing in a little bit different way than when it’s your teammate across from you. I thought today was a great success, it was a ton of fun and we got a lot accomplished out here as a team.”

In red zone work, the Texans did well, including free safety Andre Hal.

On kickoff returns, the Texans were clean with the likes of Fuller, Tyler Ervin, Braxton Miller and Wendell Williams handling most of the duties.

During offensive line drills, the Texans who held their own and stood out included Chris Clark, Jeff Adams, Troy Bergstrom and Jeff Allen. For most of those drills when the 49ers brought two defensive linemen, the Texans players picked them up well.

The Texans will hold a walk-through on Saturday and meetings.

They open the preseason Sunday at 6 p.m. against the 49ers.