Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne Jr. and the rest of the Jaguars offense were held without a touchdown at home for the second time this season. San Franscisco snapped Jacksonville’s five-game winning streak with its 34-3 win at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on November 12, 2023 at 9:06 pm
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Long passes and explosive runs get the highlights, but the game of football is still played between the big fellas on the line of scrimmage.
On a misty and gray Sunday at EverBank Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers dominated the Jaguars in the trenches in a 34-3 Niners win.
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The Jaguars’ trouble started right away and didn’t end.
The 49ers dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage in the first quarter and took a 10-0 lead. It was the first time this year the Jaguars trailed by double digits in the opening quarter.
The Jaguars’ defense briefly woke up in the second quarter. Josh Allen and Travon Walker began to get pressure on San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy. But it was short-lived.
Meanwhile, the offense struggled. Calvin Ridley wasn’t thrown to until the third quarter.
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By then, the Niners led 20-3. Then a Christian Kirk fumble inside the 10 killed a Jaguars scoring drive. San Francisco capitalized with an eight-play drive that ended with a Deebo Samuel touchdown run.
This was supposed to be a matchup of two Super Bowl contenders. Instead, it looked like a college game between a top 5 team and a directional school. By the time the Niners scored another touchdown with 12:40 to play, most of the Jaguars fans had either left the building or were headed to the parking lot and San Francisco left tackle Trent Williams mocked sipping tea to the remaining Jaguars fans.
Jacksonville’s struggles at EverBank Stadium continue. All three of Jacksonville’s losses have come on the banks of the St. Johns River. Losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans in September preceded Sunday’s loss. But this wasn’t about where the game was played, rather how it was played.
The loss to the 49ers showed the Jaguars’ greatest flaws. The offensive line and pass rush have been the major questions this year. While Allen made a few plays, the Jaguars’ inability to pressure Purdy often enough was highlighted.
And to a greater extent, the inability to keep the pass rush off of Lawrence could be a season changer. San Francisco didn’t dial up exotic blitzes, they just beat the Jaguars man-to-man. The Jaguars will face some top pass rushers over the final months of the season, notably when they travel to Cleveland on Dec 10 and when they host the Ravens on Sunday Night Football on Dec. 17.
So what’s next?
The Jaguars will host the Tennessee Titans next week. They are not likely to be pressured as much by the Titans’ pass rush. They’ll also be facing a rookie quarterback, former Kentucky Wildcat Will Levis.
But with the Houston Texans 5-4 after a win on Sunday, the division is no longer a lock for the Jags.
Last year, the Jaguars started the year 2-6 and then finished with seven wins in nine games. This year, after a 6-2 start, they delivered their worst performance of the year in their first loss since September. The Jaguars’ focus must be to play better in all phases.
Lead image: Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence as San Francisco snapped Jacksonville’s five-game winning streak with a 34-3 win at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Cole Pepper has covered sports in Jacksonville since 1996, most recently for News4Jax. He is currently broadcast director for Sporting Club Jacksonville and has called play-by-play for a number of teams, including the Suns, Tomcats, Jacksonville University, Sharks and The Bolles School football. He also served as the studio host for the Jaguars Radio Network.
