Why trade help is critical for a depleted - and collapsing - 49ers defense

By David LombardiPublished Oct. 26, 2025 • 1:02pm

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HOUSTON — After Sunday’s 26-15 loss to the Houston Texans, a drubbing that was bigger on the stat sheet than it was on the scoreboard, the 49ers are 5-3 — but with a negative point differential.

That means they’ve cumulatively scored four fewer points than their opponents over 2025’s eight games. Point differential is generally a good predictor of win-loss success over the long run, so — yes — it’s fair to say that the 49ers have outperformed expectations with clutch crunch-time play so far.

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Sunday’s problem: There was no crunch time. The dilapidated 49ers, leaking the oil associated with three additional defensive injuries, trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half. And against Houston’s No. 1 defense, the deficit felt more daunting than that.

“Try to get to the fourth quarter,” 49ers QB Mac Jones said after the game. “Our offense and defense have come up clutch in most every game we’ve been in in the fourth quarter — and we’ve won.”

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It’s most useful to take a big-picture view following Sunday’s failure: How can the 49ers best ensure that they reach the fourth quarter with a puncher’s chance moving forward?

It shouldn’t be as difficult against the New York Giants next week. The Giants have one of the NFL’s worst defenses and they just allowed 38 points to the Philadelphia Eagles. The 49ers’ offense should be able to shield its defense much more effectively than it did in Houston, where three consecutive three-and-outs to open the game gave the Texans a comical possession advantage (the 49ers held the ball for only 5:29 of the first half).

“They kicked our ass,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We’ve got to take it like men and come back — hopefully a little pissed off — and go to work and play better next week. The first half was unacceptable and the second half wasn’t much better.”

But even if the Giants present a respite next week, the Texans won’t be the last good defense the 49ers face. And even if Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall, and Brandon Aiyuk return with guns blazing to catapult the 49ers offense into the stratosphere at some point soon, the 49ers can’t afford to have the bottom fall out from under their defense in the way it did on Sunday.

The best-case scenario under those circumstances: Weekly offensive track meets, and that would be a lousy way of protecting Purdy — the franchise’s biggest investment — when he does return from his toe injury.

The Texans, who’d ranked as the league’s No. 23 offense entering the game, shelled the 49ers with 475 yards and an easy-mode performance from C.J. Stroud — whom the 49ers managed to hit only twice.

Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh strained to manufacture pressure without Nick Bosa, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Bryce Huff — his top three pass rushers. But the coordinator’s blitzes were all fruitless and the compromised coverage units behind them were far too soft.

The 49ers also lost even more firepower, as defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, defensive end Sam Okuayinonu, and linebacker Dee Winters all left with injuries. A decidedly mediocre Houston offense missing its top two wide receivers looked like a juggernaut.

It seems obvious at this point: A trade is necessary. And perhaps the 49ers will need to make multiple moves, given how they’re struggling to operate. They didn’t come particularly close to sacking Stroud, who finished 30-of-39 for 318 yards with two touchdowns, even though Houston’s offensive line came in ranked No. 30 in pass-block win rate. The 49ers rank No. 31 with just 9 sacks.

It’s rare to see an NFL team with this nonexistent of a pass rush. But to have no pass rush with a winning record? That’s essentially unheard of.

The good news is that edge rushers are as plug-and-play as additions get. The 49ers have already benefited several times from in-season acquisitions at this position, most famously when they traded with the San Diego Chargers for Fred Dean in 1981.

The bad news is that trades for impact rushers usually aren’t cheap — unless the 49ers can swing a move or two for an unheralded player who will take well to their system. Their 2021 deal with, fittingly, the Texans for Charles Omenihu is a good example of that.

Regardless, this 49ers team is fighting hard. That’s how they entered Houston at 5-2 — punching far above their point differential — and how they still made some gutsy offensive plays against that ferocious Texans defense even with the game spiraling out of control.

It seems that general manager John Lynch may owe it to the locker room to make a move or two — even if the 49ers must technically overpay.

Because even if Lynch is in full future-facing mode with this defense, the development of the 49ers’ youngsters would be severely hindered if the unit completely collapsed. The most recent losses, two weeks ago at Tampa Bay and today against Houston, should serve as warnings of that.

This 49ers team must take its opponents into the deep water of the fourth quarter, where they can flex their clutch muscle in this era of unprecedented parity. But they’ve now failed to do that in two of their past three games.

The trade deadline is Nov. 4 — just after the 49ers have a chance to rally to 6-3 against the Giants.

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