HOUSTON (AP) — me action last week Joe Montana Color Rush Jersey , Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson was determined to stay on the field a little longer on Saturday night.Watson used his one series to march the Texans down the field, going 5 of 8 for 73 yards, capped by a 1-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Ellington in Houston’s 16-13 exhibition victory over the San Francisco 49ers,“I guess he was 5 for 8, but I think he had three drops on the drive,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “I thought he did some nice things. We were able to play at a pretty good tempo and get in the end zone so that was good.”It was a much lengthier outing than the preseason opener in Kansas City, when Watson attempted just one pass in his return to game action after missing the second half of his rookie season with a torn ACL.“I felt good just to be in a game,” Watson said. “Try to get my feet wet. It was a good drive for us.”Watson’s efficiency matched a nice opening drive from San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo, who threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Trent Taylor.Garoppolo’s night ended after his second drive when a deep pass to Dante Pettis bounced off Pettis’ hands and was intercepted by Johnson Bademosi. Garoppolo was 10 of 12 for 136 yards and said there were plenty of “simple mistakes” that the team can work on correcting before the regular season begins.49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said he was tempted to send his first-string offense out for a third series.“I wanted them to get going more,” Shanahan said. “I didn’t think our execution was great in the first game. I didn’t think it was great in this game either, but I just wanted to give them more time to play.”Backup quarterbacks Brandon Weeden for Houston and C.J. Beathard for San Francisco struggled to move the ball and the game was tied at 7 at halftime.Weeden completed 7 of 15 passes for 50 yards, while Beathard was 10 of 17 for 82 yards.With Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn nursing an undisclosed injury, recent acquisition Nick Rose made a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter to put Houston up 10-7. Robbie Gould tied the game at 10 later in the third with a 39-yarder.After Gould made a 41-yard field goal with 1:41 remaining, Houston third-string quarterback Joe Webb led the Texans down the field and found Vyncint Smith for a 41-yard touchdown with 27 seconds remaining.With San Francisco down two running backs, including starter Jerick McKinnon (calf) and Matt Breida (shoulder), Jeremy McNichols got the start for the 49ers, rushing for 28 yards on 10 carries. Most offensive starters played the first two series.Defensively, starting cornerbacks Richard Sherman and K’Waun Williams did not play.Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, safety Tyrann Mathieu, cornerback Johnathan Joseph and several other Texans defensive starters didn’t play. Offensively, starting wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller did not play.NATIONAL ANTHEMNo players from the 49ers or the Texans kneeled during the national anthem, although 49ers receiver Marquise Goodwin did raise his right fist for the duration. Linebacker Eli Harold kneeled during the anthem the past two years, but stood on Saturday night.INJURIES49ers: Backup OL Erik Magnuson suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter and limped to the locker room. DEs Solomon Thomas (concussion) and Arik Armstead (hamstring) https://www.49ersfanshop.com/Deion-Sanders-Jersey , TE George Kittle (shoulder), Breida (shoulder), LB Malcolm Smith (hamstring) and McKinnon (calf) were inactive.Texans: Starting CB Kevin Johnson suffered a concussion after defending a pass from Garoppolo on the first drive. Johnson landed awkwardly on his shoulder and was treated on the field by the team’s medical staff for nearly five minutes before being escorted to the locker room. O’Brien said after the game he was taken to the hospital and that he was doing OK. … Texans WR Sammie Coates Jr. also suffered a concussion.LOWERING THE HEADSan Francisco was twice flagged for the league’s new penalties for lowering the head to initiate contact, both in the second quarter. The first came on a punt return and was charged to Raheem Mostert and the second came against Jeremiah Attaochu while rushing the passer.PENALTIES GALORE“Extremely disappointing. There were way too many penalties. We’ll look at each one. Some you can control and some you can’t, but they really hurt us. They were unacceptable.” — Shanahan on San Francisco’s 15 penalties for 140 yardsHE SAID IT“I feel more comfortable just being out there with the guys longer. Last season, I came off the streets. This year, we have time to work on plays, work on being better.” –Texans WR Bruce EllingtonNEXT UPThe 49ers (1-1) return to action on Saturday, Aug. 25, at the Colts.The Texans (2-0) visit the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, Aug. 25. SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Shanahan pulled aside his star tight end and apologized to George Kittle for not getting him more opportunities in the second half to set an NFL record.The coach even said sorry a second time.Quarterback Nick Mullens placed the blame on himself after Kittle fell 4 yards short of Shannon Sharpe’s NFL record by a tight end of 214 yards receiving.Kittle still had a brilliant Sunday afternoon, making an 85-yard touchdown reception on the way to 210 yards receiving and becoming the 49ers‘ first tight end to reach the 1,000-yard milestone to lead San Francisco past the sluggish, injury-plagued Denver Broncos 20-14.“Four yards, ahhh, it’s all right,” Kittle shrugged nonchalantly, unfazed by a near miss. “Next time. Just talk to Nick and Coach Shanahan, they’ll figure it out.”Kittle’s long TD reception on a pass from Mullens early in the second quarter put the Niners up 13-0 — “George flashed in my eyes,” his QB said — and Denver (6-7) never found a groove in seeing its three-game winning streak snapped.Kittle had all of his yards and seven receptions in the first half and was targeted just once after halftime. Again, no big deal.“We won. That’s about all that matters,” Kittle said.Broncos quarterback Case Keenum struggled to find any rhythm after the Broncos lost top wideout Emmanuel Sanders to a torn Achilles tendon in practice during the week.Dante Pettis added a 1-yard touchdown reception just before halftime for the Niners (3-10).But this was Kittle’s sparkling afternoon from the very start. He has provided a major lift for an offense that dealt with the blow of losing starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Week 3 at Kansas City.“We had one blown coverage, and a couple where we just didn’t cover him Roger Craig Jersey ,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said.Mullens connected on eight of his first 12 throws for 124 yards and wound up 20 of 33 for 332 yards and a 102.1 rating.“George had one heck of a day, 4 yards short of the record. You can blame that on me, I guess,” Mullens said.Denver (6-7), which sought its first four-game winning streak since starting the 2016 season 4-0, fell behind 20-0 at halftime then managed two second-half touchdowns to make things interesting.Phillip Lindsay ran for a 3-yard score in the third then Case Keenum hit DaeSean Hamilton on a 1-yard TD toss with 3:53 remaining. Keenum went 24 of 42 for 186 yards.San Francisco ended a three-game skid. The 49ers had lost their previous two games by 18 and 27 points, including a 43-16 defeat at rival Seattle last week.SACK TIMEDenver’s Von Miller sacked Mullens for a 9-yard loss late in the second quarter. Including the postseason, Miller’s 103½ sacks matched the franchise record held by Simon Fletcher.Meanwhile, linebacker Bradley Chubb had two more sacks for 12 on the season to break Miller’s franchise rookie record of 11½ set in 2011.KITTLE’S CATCHESThe previous time any 49ers player had 1,000 yards was in 2014, when Anquan Boldin had 1,062 yards receiving and Frank Gore 1,106 yards rushing.In addition, Kittle’s 52-yard catch and run to end the first quarter moved him past Vernon Davis for the 49ers franchise record for yards receiving by a tight end in a season.Kittle came in needing 73 yards to top Davis’ mark of 965 yards set in 2009.“It’s an honor. … He set the standard,” Kittle said.On San Francisco’s nine-play opening scoring drive — capped by Robbie Gould’s 40-yard field goal — Kittle made receptions of 31 and 5 yards.Gould made a 29-yarder early in the second.ANOTHER RECEPTIONNiners left tackle Joe Staley celebrated a rare catch, the third of his 12-year career, late in the first half when he got his hands on a tipped pass by a defender for a 5-yard loss.He will be fined for it, Shanahan insisted. Because of the chance of injury on such plays, trying for the ball isn’t advised. Staley called it a “dumb decision,” but explained it like this: “It’s like telling me ‘Hey, there’s pizza here, don’t have slice.’ I’m going to have a slice.”“Joe refuses to believe he’s an O-lineman,” Shanahan said. “… It was not a smart play.”INJURIESBroncos: Cornerback Isaac Yiadom suffered a shoulder injury. Wideout Courtland Sutton nursed a thigh injury.49ers: Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon was able to return after landing hard on his left ankle late in the game when he went down defending a pass on the sideline.UP NEXTBroncos: Host Cleveland on Saturday.49ers: Host Seattle on Sunday.