Texans 17, 49ers 0: Dameon Pierce Shines In Final Preseason Game

The preseason is finally over and your Houston Texans finish with a perfect 3-0 record. I know this will help tremendously with getting a first round by in the preseason playoffs but they can’t afford to get too cocky.

In a bit of a surprise, the Texans let their starters play a very long time into this game; personally, I was expecting them to keep the starters mostly on the sidelines to keep them fresh and, more importantly, healthy for their regular season opener against the Indianapolis Colts.

The game itself pretty much ended in the first quarter when the Texans marched down the field, thanks to the efforts of one Dameon Pierce, who looks like he is going to be a problem for the NFL. He logged six carries for 37 yards and a touchdown. Granted the San Francisco 49ers were playing some backups early, but that shouldn’t diminish the fact that he was able to chew up large chunks of turf with every possession. If this team is going to be a run-first offense, as Lovie Smith said during the game that the Texans would be, then we are going to really enjoy watching Pierce embarrass front sevens this year; compared to the last guy who wore 31 for the Texans, this is an extremely welcome change.

Davis Mills had a very up and down game, alternating really questionable throws (looking at you, end zone interception), with throws of surprising poise and competence (the Chris Moore TD), and was pulled after the Texans’ first drive in the second half in favor of Kyle Allen.

I would also like to submit for public record my working theory that Nico Collins is an incredibly talented wide receiver who apparently has a Romani curse on him that every completion he makes gets nullified by a really stupid penalty by one of his teammates. Seeing as he would have scored a TD in the second half if it weren’t for a poorly-timed Chris Moore OPI penalty; or maybe Chris Moore did it on purpose so he could score a TD on the very next play*? Hmmmmmmmm...

The second half was pretty uneventful save for a sick hit by Eric Murray, playing with the scrubs where he belongs, on a Niners receiver who still got a first down anyway. In an odd way, that feels very much like Eric Murray: flashy hit but still gives up the yardage anyway.

I would regale you with what happened in the fourth quarter but frankly, not a whole lot happened then.

But, the preseason is over and now the Texans can turn their attention to games that actually matter and we can begin preparing for another riveting(?) season of Texans football.

*This is nonsense, of course.