Week 8: 49ers tame Jaguars in London

Winners of four straight heading into Sunday's game, all by double-digits, Jim Harbaugh's 49ers flew across the pond to London, England to face a 17-point underdog in the (0-7) Jacksonville Jaguars. One of two NFL teams still seeking their first win of 2013 (Tampa Bay the other), the Jaguars knew their first taste of triumph wasn't likely to come against a San Francisco squad that's been playing its best ball of the season as of late and has scored at least 30-points in each of their last four games. Dominating both at home and on the road, the 49ers made themselves feel right at home on Sunday despite being more than 5,000 miles away from Candlestick Park. 

It's no secret that the San Francisco 49ers are at their best when their run game is clicking on all cylinders and the defense does what's asked of them. That's been the team's recipe for success over the last month. With QB Colin Kaepernick involved in the run game more so last week than he was in any week prior as he ran for his first touchdown of the season, coach Harbaugh saw his quarterback log another stellar performance on the ground in this one. Kaep ran for 54-yards and added two more rushing touchdowns to his season total while throwing for another 164-yards and finding a wide-open Vernon Davis in the end zone in the second quarter for his only passing touchdown of the ballgame. Running back Frank Gore who's been the catalyst during San Francisco's current winning streak, ran for another pair of touchdowns on Sunday while compiling 71-yards rushing, but not even he led the 49ers rushing attack against the Jaguars as that title belonged to backup Kendall Hunter who ran for a game-high 84-yards.

If any of the 83,559 fans in attendance at London's Wembley Stadium were fans of the long ball and were hoping to see the 49ers utilized Colin Kaepernick's arm to the best of its ability, they more than likely left Sunday's game disappointed. With only 16 pass plays being drawn up by offensive coordinator Greg Roman who called for twice as many run plays, the few number of times the 49ers decided to go through the air might come as a surprise considering the second play of the game saw Kaepernick connect with his fullback Bruce Miller for a 43-yard gain. Trailing 28-0, Jacksonville would finally get on the board just before the end of the first half as kicker Josh Scobee split the uprights from 38-yards out. The Jaguars' lone highlight would come in the third quarter when QB Chad Henne who threw for 228 yards on the day while playing a turnover-free ballgame, found a wide-open receiver in the end zone as Mike Brown hauled in a 29-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 18.

But any hopes of a miracle win would come crashing down early in the fourth quarter when 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis forced a fumble on Jaguars tight-end Mercedes Lewis, picked up and returned 43-yards by Dan Skuta for the game-sealing touchdown as San Francisco pummeled the Jags, 42-10. The victory was the fifth straight for the 49ers and was also the fifth consecutive performance in which Jim Harbaugh's team lit up the scoreboard for more than 30-points as they improved to 6-2 on the year.

Week 10 Preview - With a BYE week in week 9, the 49ers will have plenty of time to return home and adjust to the States in preparation not only for their next opponent but also for the second half of the NFL season. Still trailing the (7-1) Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West division, every game from here on is key for the 49ers who hope to not just make the playoffs but do so ahead of their division foe. Week 10 will see the 49ers return home to Candlestick Park where they'll play host to Cam Newton and the (5-3) Carolina Panthers. Like San Francisco, the Panthers are riding a win-streak of their own having won four straight in hopes of closing the gap on the NFC South-leading New Orleans Saints. Few quarterbacks in the league have been as hot as Newton over the last month so the Niner defense figures to have their hands full in that department. The biggest concern, however, is Carolina's defense. As good as San Francisco's defense has been as of late, the Panthers defense has been among the league's best this season. Carolina boasts a turnover ratio of +8 and has allowed only 9 touchdowns compared to San Francisco's +4 turnover ratio and 17 touchdowns allowed. So as much as we'd all like to see Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick run rampant on the opposition, don't be surprised if it ends up being a game highlighted by defense.


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