San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel, right, scores a 25-yard touchdown in front of Jacksonville Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins, center, and linebacker Myles Jack (44) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
SANTA CLARA — What, no one to blame for the 49ers not winning this past week? That’s only because they were on their bye.
When their 5-0 start gave way to a three-game losing streak, a culprit was identified and assigned blame after each defeat: Jake Moody, for missing a field goal in Cleveland; Steve Wilks, for a blitz that backfired in Minnesota; and, Brock Purdy, for three turnovers against Cincinnati in his first-ever home loss.
May as well blame the schedule czar next if the 49ers sleepwalk their way to a loss Sunday in Jacksonville, where a 10 a.m. PT kickoff awaits.
Both the 49ers (5-3) and the Jaguars (4-2) are coming off bye weeks; so were the Browns and the Bengals before upsetting the 49ers.
What makes the 49ers still a verifiable contender is not any individual’s accountability but rather the complementary production from their assortment of all-stars, most of who’ve have been embedded in the proven-successsful systems.
New to the squad is defensive end Chase Young, Washington’s No. 2 overall draft pick in 2020 whom the 49ers acquired minutes before Tuesday’s trade deadline to uplift an underachieving and apparently overpaid defense.
TOP 5 STORYLINES
1. YOUNG’S INFLUENCE: Young’s five sacks with Washington are more than anyone’s totaled on the 49ers. How will teammates react and respond to his addition? Nick Bosa surely will be happy to reunite with his Ohio State classmate. Will the other 49ers step up their game, not only in pass rush but with an increasingly suspect run defense?
2. QUARTERBACK MATCHUP: For the second straight game, Brock Purdy (2022 final draft pick) will match up against a quarterback drafted No. 1 overall. Last game: Purdy had three turnovers vs. Joe Burrow’s three touchdown passes. This game, 2021 top pick Trevor Lawrence enters with a career-best 68.3 completion percentage and just four interceptions, but also just nine touchdown passes. Purdy, by the way, spent part of his bye week driving a tractor in Iowa.
3. OFFENSIVE REBOOT: Left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) and wide receiver Deebo Samuel (shoulder) are expected back from two-game absences. But left guard Aaron Banks (toe) could be out, and veteran Jon Feliciano his likely replacement. Overall, the offensive mojo has been lacking (17 points in three straight losses) so the 49ers need stronger play out of everyone. They also need to block the Jaguars Josh Allen (nine sacks, third-most in the NFL).
4. RUNNING BACK DUEL: Christian McCaffrey led the NFL in rushing after each of the season’s first eight weeks, before the bye. Among those in hot pursuit of McCaffrey (652 yards) is the Jaguars’ Travis Etienne (583). Both are receiving threats – McCaffrey has 292 yards, Etienne 266 – and both are scoring machines. McCaffrey has matched a NFL record with a touchdown in 17 straight games. Etienne ran for two touchdowns in three straight games, then scored on a 56-yard catch-and-run last game in Pittsburgh.
5. WILKS UP OR DOWN: This should not be as big as a deal as it’s become. Where defensive coordinator Steve Wilks calls plays is not as meaningful as to why he’s calling them and why they’re not working. The 49ers defense is not a young group without veteran leaders on the field and sideline. If Wilks moves down from the booth to the sideline, like Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada did Thursday night, then it’s a sign of how perplexed he and the players are through eight games. Or how irate Kyle Shanahan is with the defense.
LAST MEETING
Two years ago, the 49ers won for the first time ever in Jacksonville, a 30-10 rout. Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead and Fred Warner are the 49ers’ only starting defenders remaining from that win over a then-rookie Lawrence. Samuel had a 25-yard touchdown run and Jimmy Garoppolo threw red-zone touchdown strikes to Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle; Trey Lance relieved Garoppolo to kill the final three minutes after the Jaguars’ lone score. The 49ers improved to 5-5 en route to a 10-7 mark before the playoffs; the Jaguars fell to 2-8 and would finish 3-14.
SERIES HISTORY
The 49ers lost their first two meetings in Jacksonville (1999, 2005) but have won all four since then, including a 2013 matchup in London.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
The 49ers entered Week 9 as the NFC’s would-be sixth seed, and they had fallen into second place in the NFC West behind the Seahawks, who took a 5-2 record into Sunday’s game
The Jaguars, under second-year coach Doug Pederson and former 49ers general manager Trent Baalke, are on an NFL-best five-game win streak. That put them among a quartet of AFC teams who got off to a 6-2 start.
ROAD WOES
The 49ers have lost their past two road games, 19-17 at Cleveland in Week 6 and 22-17 at Minnesota in Week 7. They have not lost three straight road games since the 2018 season, when they went 0-8 away from Levi’s Stadium.
BYE WEEK WOES
For the third time in four games, the 49ers are facing a team coming off their bye week, which was the case against the Browns and the Bengals). A fourth such game awaits Dec. 17 at Arizona. Under Shanahan, the 49ers are 3-3 after their own regular-season byes.
WEATHER
Partly cloudy skies and a high of 72 degrees, with 10 to 20 mph winds, are forecast by Weather.com
BETTING LINE
The 49ers, entering Week 9, were 6 ½- to 7-point favorites, according to VegasInsider.com, with the over/under projected at 45 ½ points.
Prediction: 49ers 30, Jaguars 16
Originally published at Cam Inman