While it's fair (and arguably correct) to place the brunt of the blame on the San Francisco 49ers offense for the 26-15 defeat at the hands of the Houston Texans, coordinator Robert Saleh's defense isn't exactly absolved from underachievement.
The Niners surrendered 475 yards of total offense, allowing quarterback C.J. Stroud and Co. to go 9-of-16 on third downs, fully dominating the time-of-possession battle.
A key reason? San Francisco can't generate a pass rush.
Granted, it wasn't planned to have such an inept pass rush through eight weeks. But, after losing All-Pro defensive end Nick Bosa to a season-ending ACL tear back in Week 3, the chances of generating regular pressure took a massive hit.