Huff had played a crucial role in the 49er defense shutting down the Atlanta Falcons in Week 7, and the injuries to Okuayinonu and Elliott exacerbated the problem for San Francisco that was a constant on defense throughout — a failure to make the Houston offense pay on third down.

The performance against the Houston Texans highlighted several areas that need improvement. The 49ers are learning to cope without their two main defensive stars, Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, for the remainder of the season. Losing both so early could suggest the team may explore a trade before the deadline to help support the rookies.

The long string of injuries that have haunted the San Francisco 49ers all season finally became too much to overcome for at least one week. The defense miss

There were a couple of good things, plenty of bad, and enough ugly from the 49ers in Week 8 against the Texans.

The 49ers still aren’t sure if Brock Purdy will play against Giants, but surface at MetLife Stadium will not be a factor.

Instead of having to settle for another field goal, C.J, Stroud and Xavier Hutchinson hooked up to put the 49ers in a deeper hole.

"We've got to take it like men and come back, hopefully a little pissed off, and play better next week," Kyle Shanahan said.