JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A bonanza of big plays made for an emphatic end to the 49ers’ losing streak Sunday.
Their embattled defense dominated the NFL’s hottest team, Brock Purdy directed an explosive offense, and the 49ers delivered 34-3 road victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Playing before a bipartisan crowd and under a chilly layer of fog, the 49ers (6-3) snapped their three-game skid without any fear of the fourth-quarter follies that previously derailed them.
“Losing four straight, a lot of people would have wanted to turn the panic lights on, or we could have our proverbial back against the wall,” left tackle Trent Wiliams said. “Winning on the road against a team that’s been rolling … it’s definitely what we needed.”
The Jaguars (6-3) had won an NFL-best five in a row (and 11-of-13 regular-season games dating to last season) before getting completely overwhelmed and committing four turnovers.
This post-bye romp showcased the 49ers’ all-around talents last seen when they improved to 5-0 with a 42-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Next up is a home game Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the 49ers dive into the season’s most-anticipated gauntlet (at Seattle on Thanksgiving night, then at Philadelphia the following Sunday before a Dec. 10 rematch with the Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium).
No unit performed better Sunday than the 49ers’ defensive front, which welcomed the debut of Chase Young while Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave delivered their best outings of the season. Bosa and Hargrave each had 1 1/2 sacks, and each of them pressured Lawrence into an interception, those nabbed by Talanoa Hufanga and Fred Warner.
“We rushed collectively the best I’ve seen,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Our guys made so many plays when they got down there (in 49ers territory). They were relentless today and kept going for that ball.”
The 49ers also forced and recovered a pair of fumbles in a pair of picturesque plays. On the first, Bosa soared in from left defensive end and Young did the same from the right flank, and they not only sandwiched Lawrence, Bosa stripped the ball and recovered the fumble near midfield, with a 10-0 lead. On the second fumble recovery, Ambry Thomas forced it at the 6-yard line and attempted to scoop-and-score, but multiple 49ers and even Shanahan came onto the field to nullify the return; Shanahan said their vision was obstructed and thought the play was dead so they were going to congratulate the defense, and this was a learning experience.
Offensively, the 49ers crested the 30-point mark as they did in each of their first five wins. Purdy had a career-high passer rating of 148.9, and undoubtedly helping that cause were the returns of Williams and wide receiver Deebo Samuel from their injuries in an Oct. 15 loss in Cleveland.
Samuel scored on a 23-yard run late in the third quarter for a 27-3 lead, to which he said: “I came around the edge and I didn’t see nothing but white (49ers) jerseys and two blue (Jaguars) jerseys, and I’m like, ain’t no choice but to get in the end zone right now.”
The only drama left in the final minutes was whether Christian McCaffrey would become the first NFL player to score in 18 straight games. They tried in vain to set the record. McCaffrey had a 19-yard run to the 10-yard line with 5 minutes left, but he would get denied of the goal line after two carries and two targets, the last of which he dove to try snagging at the 1-yard lien.
“I mean, 18 games in a row is a big record, so if we have a chance, I tried to do it for him,” Shanahan said. “Just a little nervewracking. Last thing I want to do is get him hurt.”
Shanahan said he made sure at the postgame handshake to make sure Jaguars coach Doug Pederson was aware of the record pursuit, to which he said Pederson was, adding: “Hopefully that didn’t offend them too much.”
McCaffrey took a humorous approach to it: “Yeah, I (stink). Everyone else on the team scored except for me. No, that means a lot to me for them to keep me in at the end of the game there and try to get me that record, but hey, I’ll take a huge win.”
Purdy did more than his part, peppering in three touchdown passes among his 296 yards, and he went without a turnover for the first time in four games.
Those scoring throws — 13 yards to Brandon Aiyuk on their first series, 66 yards to George Kittle on the second half’s second snap, 22 yards to Kyle Juszczyk for a 34-3 lead — may not have even been the day’s best by Purdy, who completed multiple strong-armed throws across the field to the boundary. With 10 minutes to go and a 31-point lead in hand, Sam Darnold relieved Purdy (19-of-26).
The 49ers found themselves with a seemingly insurmountable 20-3 lead when Purdy and Kittle connected for the second-half shocker. On that 66-yard touchdown, Purdy double-clutched in the pocket before winging his pass to Kittle, who broke free down the right sideline past linebacker Devin Lloyd’s single coverage. Kittle caught the ball at the Jaguars’ 35-yard line, then had a clear path to strut toward the end zone and walked into it.
“What’s fun is you come in at halftime, you sit down as an offense and Kyle says, ‘These are the eight to 10 plays I want to get run this half.’ That was the second play of the half and that wasn’t up there,” Kittle said with a laugh.
Because it was a second-and-1 play, Shanahan correctly predicted the Jaguars’ would be in man coverage, leaving just a linebacker in coverage on Kittle, who added: “t was exactly what we wanted and how we drew it up. I’m thankful Kyle called that play.”
The 49ers took a 13-3 lead into halftime when Jake Moody aired a 35-yard field goal just inside the right upright as the half expired. His 39-yarder on the 49ers’ second series staked them to a 10-0 lead.
Purdy needed only four plays to deliver the 49ers’ sixth opening-drive touchdown in nine games. He capped that series with a 13-yard, jump-ball pass to Aiyuk for the 7-0 lead, after Purdy faked a handoff to McCaffrey, rolled left, then soared the ball just over Kittle and two defenders (Andre Cisco and Tyson Campbell) to find Aiyuk in the back of the end zone. Setting up that score: a 6-yard run by McCaffrey, a 9-yard catch by McCaffrey, then a 29-yard reception to Kittle after he waved that he was wide open and took the ball to the 13.
When the 49ers got the ball back with 1:43 remaining, they assumed the victory formation, keeping McCaffrey, Purdy and others stars on the sideline for the pending celebration.
McCaffrey finished with 95 rushing yards, Kittle had 116 receiving yards, and the 49ers outgained the Jaguars 437-221.
While a flurry of big plays unfolded on the field, 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks calmly went about his business on the sideline after a controversial move this game from the coaches’ booth. Wilks reviewed video on a tablet, conferred with position coaches and occasionally congratulated players on big plays but reminded them to keep going.
“We had three games that just weren’t us,” Warner said. “We had to get back to playing 49er football. We had to take pride in what we were putting on tape and I feel we did that.”
