49er’s 20 Texans 17

The Reggie Bush Bowl came to a successful conclusion for the 2-14 Texans as a field goal with 5 minutes left in overtime lifted the 4-12 49er’s to the victory. The Texans can now get on with the inevitable firing of head coach Dom Capers and his coaching staff, and the latest rumor is that Texans GM Charlie Casserly will be retained in some personnel-related capacity, although it remains unclear whether he will remain general manager of the team.
One could reasonably speculate that the Texans did not try to win the game much. QB David Carr (elbow), star receiver Andre Johnson (ankle) and leading pass rusher Shantee Orr (back) all retired to the sideline after a couple of series with injuries. They joined running backs Domanick Davis (knee) and Jonathan Wells (thigh) and defensive end Gary Walker (tricep), who all went on injured reserve last week. Moreover, kicker Kris Brown missed another chip-shot field goal with six minutes to go that would have won the game in regulation for the Texans, and the Texans’ offense continued to distinguish itself as one of the worst in recent NFL history — the unit not only failed again to exceed 300 yards of total offense, but also set up the 49er’s tying and winning scores.
By the way, one of the stranger observations on the game and the season was in this Megan Manfull/Chronicle article:

“The Texans have rallied around [Texan head coach Dom] Capers all season.”

If the Texans have rallied around Capers this season, then how bad would the Texans have been had they actually tanked on their coach? Texans announcer Mark Vandermeer summed it up with his call at the end of the game:

“Here’s the snap. The kick is good. The game is over. The season is over as the Texans lose to San Francisco 20-17. They lock up the worst record in the National Football league at 2 and 14, and the nightmare that was the 2005 campaign finally comes to an end.”

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