Week 10 - Coming out of the bye week and hitting the road for Jacksonville, the (5-3) San Francisco 49ers would face the red-hot (6-2) Jaguars in a battle between two teams that have gone in completely different directions from one another after totally different starts to the season. While the 49ers got off to arguably the best start in all of football with a blazing 5-0 start, the Jags on the other hand began the season 1-2 through their first three games. Since those starts, the Niners have dropped three straight, and the Jags have won an NFL-best five in a row entering Sunday. In desperate need of a win to stop the bleeding and end their three-game skid, the 49ers received some much needed help on defense from defensive-end Chase Young who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Washington Commanders.
Coming out of college as the No. 2 overall pick in 2019, Niners defensive-end Nick Bosa was touted as being one of the best pass rushers of this generation. And coming out of college a year later was his Ohio State teammate Chase Young who many believed was even more talented after also being drafted with the No. 2 overall pick. Now the two former Defensive Rookies of the Year have reunited at the professional level in San Francisco and will attempt to duplicate the success they had together at the collegiate level when they wreaked havoc and combined for a total of 33 sacks in two seasons with the Buckeyes. Facing a stout defense of their own, Jacksonville entered Sunday tied with the Saints for the most takeaways in all of football with 18, while also ranking 3rd in the NFL in rushing yards per game allowed (79). Like San Francisco, the Jags were also coming off the bye week, making it three straight weeks the 49ers would face a team coming off the bye and given an extra week to prepare for them. The extra week of preparation wouldn't matter for Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence, however, as the San Francisco defense had his number virtually all afternoon long. But it wasn't all about the defense in this one for the 49ers, as quarterback Brock Purdy helped get the offense back on track in a big way.
With Jacksonville receiving the opening-kickoff, the 49er defense would come out swinging by getting to the quarterback for a sack and forcing a three and out punt. Equally as impressive would be the 49er offense which needed only four plays to march 57-yards before finding the end zone on a 13-yard pass from Purdy who hit receiver Brandon Aiyuk for the touchdown. Escaping the pocket and running left, Purdy would throw across the field to find his target for the early score, and although it would be a success, his coach was not a fan. In his postgame press conference, coach Kyle Shanahan recalled the play as, "one of his worst decisions I think he's made since he's been here." While the daring play didn't win his coach over, it did help give his team an early 7-0 lead. The opening-drive score for the 49ers would be their sixth opening-drive touchdown on the season, the most in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Jags defense had given up zero opening-drive touchdowns on the year up to that point, allowing only 3-points on opening-drives which ranked as the fewest in the league. The theme of those first drives would be commonplace throughout the afternoon for both teams.
Getting back to back stops on defense by forcing another Jacksonville three and out as the 49ers got to Lawrence for the second time in as many drives, the 49ers added to their lead with a Jake Moody field goal to take a 10-0 lead. The Jaguars would finally get the ball across midfield in the second quarter on their fourth possession, but two plays after their biggest play yet, a 16-yard run, the 49ers would force the first of many turnovers on the day as Bosa and Young combined for the sack just like old times, forcing a turnover recovered by the defense. Exchanging field goals before the half, the Niners took a 13-3 lead into halftime. Turning things up a notch on both sides of the ball to start the second half, Brock Purdy recorded the longest touchdown pass of his career on a deep ball to his tight-end George Kittle, launching a 66-yard strike just two plays into the half as Kittle was able to walk into the end zone untouched. The 49er defense would then string together three straight drives with forced turnovers as two interceptions and a fumble ignited a busy day for defensive-coordinator Steve Wilkes who was on the hot seat after the Niners' recent skid and was asked by coach Shanahan to ditch the press box in favor of calling the game from the field. Safe to say it worked.
Jacksonville's one and only trip to the red zone in the second half would end in disaster when receiver Christian Kirk fumbled inside the 10-yard line after being tackled by San Francisco's Ambry Thomas. The turnover was initially returned 92-yards for a touchdown by Thomas, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by the 49er sideline nullified the big play as players were called for stepping onto the field before the play was over. Although the touchdown on defense would be called back, the offense would make up for it just a few plays later as utilityman Deebo Samuel returned to the lineup in a big way with a 23-yard rushing touchdown. After missing the last two games with a shoulder injury and all but one possession of the game prior to that, Deebo helped the 49er offense get back to their old ways alongside left-tackle Trent Williams who also returned after sustaining an injury to the Browns in Week 6, the same game Deebo was injured in.
The 49er defense would intercept Trevor Lawrence a second time on Jacksonville's following possession to open the fourth quarter thanks to a pick from linebacker Fred Warner, as Javon Hargrave applied pressure that led to the errant pass. Putting the final nail in the coffin would be 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk who hauled in a 22-yard grab, making it a 34-3 lead and putting the game well out of reach. Brock Purdy was able to sit the rest of the way, allowing Sam Darnold to finish the game under center. With star running back Christian McCaffrey sitting at 17 consecutive games with a touchdown, tied with Hall of Famer Lenny Moore for the all-time record, coach Shanahan dialed up multiple plays down the stretch in the fourth quarter for McCaffrey who had his eyes set on history. However, everyone in the building knew the ball was going to McCaffrey, including the Jags who sniffed out a pass attempt near the goal line, denying McCaffrey and forcing the turnover on downs.
Putting up a career-high passer rating of 148.9 and completing 73% of his passes, 49ers QB Brock Purdy did manage to make history of his own as Sunday's win marked the 3rd time in Purdy's professional career that he recorded at least three touchdowns and a passer rating of 140 or more, joining Kurt Warner as the only other QB in NFL history to accomplish that feat during their first two seasons in the league. Completing 19 of 26 passes for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns, Purdy helped the Niners score 30+ points for the sixth time this season, the most in the NFL. Even more impressive, all 3 of Purdy's TD's against the Jags traveled over 10 yards in the air with a time to throw off at least 2.5 seconds. Only five QB's have recorded a game with three such TD's this season, and Purdy is the only one to accomplish it multiple times. Elsewhere, the league's leading-rusher McCaffrey logged his 6th game this season with 100+ scrimmage yards (95 rushing, 47 receiving), the most in the NFL. Tight-end George Kittle led all receivers with 116 yards receiving and a touchdown on only three receptions. For Jacksonville, QB Trevor Lawrence was held to just 185 yards passing and 0 touchdowns, while throwing 2 interceptions and was sacked five times on the afternoon.
Week 11 Preview: The (6-3) 49ers will look to build upon their most recent win in dominant fashion when they return home to Levi's Stadium to face Baker Mayfield and the (4-5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It’ll be the first time Brock Purdy faces Tampa Bay since making his first career start against them in Week 14 a season ago, helping defeat the Tom Brady-led Bucs by a final score of 35-7 and putting the league on notice that he was more than just the latest Mr. Irrelevant.
Coming off a 20-6 win at home over the Tennessee Titans, the former 1st overall pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2018, has enjoyed a resurgent year under-center in his first season with the Bucs, having thrown 14 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions and has his team playing respectable football in what has been a poor division up to this point. One player that will look to contain Mayfield is Nick Bosa who had some fun the last time he faced Mayfield, planting the flag in his famous sack celebration that was in reference to Mayfield planting the Oklahoma Sooners flag at midfield in a win over Ohio State when the two faced off in college. Coming off his best game of the season with 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery which earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors, Bosa will try to exact more revenge against Mayfield and apply pressure on the quarterback for a San Francisco defense that now leads the league in interceptions with 13 on the year.
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