Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco 49ers hammered the Houston Texans in a 34-3 route at Candlestick Park on Sunday night. The story of this game was not the dominance of quarterback Colin Kaepernick with his six out of 15 completions for 113 yards and one touchdown, but the dominance of the defense and the collapse Houston quarterback Matt Schaub and his 19 completions out of 35 passes for 173 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.

This game proved that the 49ers defense is the cornerstone of the team. Linebackers NaVorro Bowman and Michael Wilhoite both earned 13 total tackles with Bowman having 11 solo tackles and Wilhoite with 13 solo tackles and three were for a loss. Schaub was only sacked once, but that statistic is irrelevant given the number interceptions he threw. Rookie safety Eric Reid showed up with eight solo tackles.

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The ground attack of the 49ers is the foundation of the offense. Seven players rushed the ball throughout the game and they totaled 177 yards with a 4.9 yards average. Yes, the offense ran well, but the passing game is still a big question mark. Kaepernick put up numbers similar to former league quarterback Tim Tebow.

For this team to continue to win, the offense must find ways to complete more passes, because there may be games where the defense is outmatched. Aside from the injuries occur throughout any season, the fate of All-Pro linebacker Aldon Smith is still up in the air.