Week 4: 49ers Bounce back, Pummel Jets in shutout fashion

After a loss on the road during Week 3 to Minnesota in which the 49ers were downright outplayed on offense, defense and special teams, Jim Harbaugh and company would use just about anything as a springboard, but would much rather prefer a shutout. Facing a New York Jets team which features a number of question marks on both sides of the ball, the 49ers would get just that. Similar to last year's trip out east when coach Harbaugh decided to keep his team in Youngstown, Ohio where the squad trained following back-to-back games in Weeks 3 and 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles, the man at the helm chose to setup camp in Youngstown for a second time rather than make the flight back to the west coast only to fly back east a few days later. Allowing the team to focus a bit more on the task at hand, the remedy worked once again as the team showed up on Sunday looking like an entirely different team than the one that fell to the Vikings, 24-13 the week before despite not playing to their full potential.

With a combined 246 yards passing between San Francisco's Alex Smith (143 yards) and New York's Mark Sanchez (103 yards), it would be the running game that ignited all the fireworks on offense. Thanks to a number of contributions, most notably from running backs Frank Gore (62 yards) and Kendall Hunter (56 yards) as well as backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick (50 yards), the 49ers ran for a combined 245 rushing yards compared to the Jets' 45 yards rushing, with each player finishing with one rushing touchdown including the first touchdown of Kaepernick's career. The 245 rushing yards allowed by New York marked the most ever for a Rex Ryan coached team. Equally as bad as their defense was at stopping the run, the Jets offense had nothing to show for either as Mark Sanchez  entered the game with the worst completion rating in the league at 49.2%. After early indications of a lackluster offense during the preseason which saw the Jets fail to score a single touchdown on offense, things would only get worse for the Jets. 

Having lost their best player on defense the week before in Darelle Revis, the bad news for Rex Ryan's squad would continue as they would wind up losing wide-receiver Santonio Holmes to a serious foot injury in the fourth quarter, adding to the nightmare that has been the Jets' season. Tim Tebow who was brought in during the off-season and was due for his first snaps in a Jets uniform according to Rex Ryan, saw limited action under center as his first and only pass attempt of the season was a 9-yard reception to wide-out Dedrick Epps who was met by Dashon Goldson before fumbling and losing the ball, the first of four New York turnovers including two other fumbles and an interception. Since last season, winning the turnover battle has been vital to the 49ers' success under second year head coach Jim Harbaugh and has almost always decided the victor. Sunday was no different as San Francisco's stingy defense was +4 in the turnover department as the 49ers bounced back from their Minnesota debacle by trampling the Jets by a final score of 34-0. The 34-point shellacking was also the Jets' biggest shutout loss at home since falling 37-0 to the 1989 Buffalo Bills. 

Week 5 Preview & Prediction: With the 49ers returning home for the first time since their Sunday night affair against the Detroit Lions in Week 2, Jim Harbaugh's squad will host the 2-2 Buffalo Bills. Led by QB Ryan Fitzpatrick who leads the league with 12 touchdowns and is tied for second with the most interceptions (7), the Bills have been just as dangerous through the air this season as they have on the ground. But with the Bills nursing not one, but two star running backs in Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller, Buffalo's offense might be in store for a long day as the 49ers D looks to impress and prove that last week's slaying of the New York Jets was no fluke. And with Fitzpatrick coming off a 4 touchdown, 4 interception outing at home against an off and on New England Patriots defense, the Harvard alum will have his hands full with one of the best defenses in all of football. Expect to see Alex Smith rebound from his dismal 143 yards passing, 0 touchdown performance against the Jets with his biggest numbers yet as he and running back Frank Gore lead the 49ers to a 30-17 win at home.


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