Niners Nation
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan got Christian McCaffrey involved early and often on the first drive with six touches. The ground game looked good early. Brock Purdy began the drive with an 18-yard pass to Kyle Juszczyk. However, a 13-play drive stalled in the red zone, and the Niners had to settle for a field goal.
Eddy Pinero’s kickoff was headed out of bounds, but the Jaguars’ rookie returner caught it and then ran out of bounds, costing his team roughly 33 yards of field position.
The defense had a chance to make its first interception of the season after Marques Sigle tipped a pass in the air. Fred Warner, of all people, was unable to reel in the one-handed interception. Jacksonville would convert a fourth down a few plays later to remain on the field. The Brian Thomas miscues continued on 3rd & 13, which kept the Jaguars out of field goal range.
It was another scoreless first quarter by the defense. That was the fourth game in a row. It was also the first time this season the Jaguars hadn’t scored in the first quarter.
Tight end Jake Tonges left with a shoulder injury after the first drive and headed to the locker room. He came back and was on the field for the team’s second drive.
If McCaffrey was the focal point of the first drive, the second one belonged to Ricky Pearsall, who saw targets on two of the first three plays of the drive, including one reception for a first down. That drive did not last long after Luke Farrell, a former Jaguar, fumbled heading into Jacksonville territory.
The Jaguars’ offense took advantage before you could blink an eye as Travis Etienne raced down the sideline 48 yards after taking advantage of some shoddy tackling to give Jacksonville a 7-3 lead.
After a one-handed catch by Ricky Pearsall, Brock Purdy’s high pass over the middle went off Christian McCaffrey’s hands for the Niners’ second turnover in five plays. That was another scoring opportunity wasted by a turnover.
Mykel Williams and Bryce Huff drew holding penalties, backing up Trever lawrence and the Jaguars. A mistake by the refs cost the 49ers the ball and potential field position. Kyle Shanahan wanted to decline the second holding penalty to make it 3rd & 12. The referee accepted the penalty, making it 3rd & 17. Shanahan called a timeout to discuss what happened. He was argumentative and upset, thinking he had declined the previous penalty.
Travis Hunter looked to have a highlight catch on third down to give the Jaguars a first down, costing the 49ers a second timeout. So, they lost a timeout, a challenge, the ball, and field position after that sequence.
The defense had multiple chances to get off the field, but Lawrence converted each third down they faced. Jacksonville found the end zone after a 14-play, 89-yard drive that took eight minutes off the clock to take a 14-3 lead.
Brock Purdy was...
