Stroud has season-high 318 yards passing with two TDs to lead the Texans over the 49ers 26-15

HOUSTON – With star receiver Nico Collins out Sunday against San Francisco, the Houston Texans needed someone to step up to make up for his absence.

Turns out a lot of different players helped do that.

C.J. Stroud threw for a season-high 318 yards with two touchdowns and the Texans got off to a quick start and held on for a 26-15 victory.

Stroud did a great job of distributing the ball, completing passes to nine different players with Collins out after sustaining a concussion Monday night. Xavier Hutchinson led the group with a career-high 69 yards receiving and a score and rookie Jaylin Noel added 63 to help the Texans (3-4) bounce back after a loss to Seattle.

“We’ve got a lot of players who want the ball and can do something with the ball,” Hutchinson said. “I felt like that was a great time for us to step up and show up and that’s exactly what we did.”

Stroud knew it would have to be a group effort to make up for Collins being out and was glad to see so many guys contribute.

“Spreading the ball around is great for everybody,” he said. “I love seeing my guys make plays.”

Hutchinson’s 30-yard touchdown grab extended Houston’s lead to 23-7 with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.

A 2-yard touchdown reception by Jake Tonges and Demarcus Robinson’s 2-point conversion grab cut the lead to 23-15 late in the third quarter. Jauan Jennings made a 25-yard grab a play before the touchdown to set up the score.

Houston added a field goal after that, and the 49ers were driving late when Kamari Lassiter intercepted Mac Jones just outside of the end zone with a little under two minutes left to seal the victory.

“What I’m most proud of is how we finished the game,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We’ve had some good starts but we haven’t finished games and that’s the key for us.”

Jones had trouble getting the offense going, and the 49ers (5-3) trailed by 16 before they gained a first down late in the second quarter. He threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns in his fourth straight game and sixth this season filling in for the injured Brock Purdy.

The Texans held Christian McCaffrey in check. He had just 25 yards rushing and 43 receiving after piling up 201 yards of offense and two scores in last week’s 20-10 win over Atlanta.

“There’s not much to sugarcoat there,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I was real disappointed in the way we looked for all four quarters. First half was unacceptable and the second half didn’t get much better. Not much to say about it except that.”

Rookie Woody Marks helped Houston to the win with 62 yards rushing and four receptions for 49 yards.

The Texans led by six in the second quarter when Jayden Higgins grabbed a 12-yard TD reception to make it 13-0. Noel had a 44-yard reception earlier in that drive to get Houston into scoring position. Stroud connected with Marks on a 50-yard throw earlier in the half to give the Texans two plays of 40-plus yards on Sunday after they had just two in the first six games combined.

Ka’imi Fairbairn’s third field goal pushed the lead to 16-0 with about a minute left in the first half.

After punting on their first three possessions, the Niners finally got their offense going and cut the lead to 16-7 when George Kittle grabbed a 17-yard touchdown reception near the end of the first half.

Kittle said their inability to sustain drives in the first half put too much pressure on a defense that has been riddled by injuries.

“That was a horrible first half,” Kittle said. “That was a really bad performance by our offense and I think we completely left our young defense out to dry today because I think they played really well.”

The 49ers ended an NFL record of 14 straight games without an interception, covering 469 consecutive passes, when Deommodore Lenoir intercepted Stroud on the last play of the first half.

Injuries

Niners OL Jordan Elliott injured his ankle in the first half. … LB Dee Winters injured his knee in the third quarter … Texans WR Braxton Berrios injured his chest in the third quarter. … DE Dylan Horton injured his knee in the third quarter.

Up next

49ers: Visit the Giants next Sunday.

Texans: Host Denver next Sunday.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL