NFL Week 10 Overreactions: San Francisco returns, the Texans surprise the Bengals
The 49ers were in desperate need of a victory after their week off. In a game that was never really competitive, they not only defeated the Jaguars 34-3 on Sunday in Jacksonville, but they also seemed to get back on track.
San Francisco outgained the Jaguars by 216 yards and easily won the turnover fight. It was a victory that brought back memories of the first five weeks rather than the team we saw in their three losses and disorganised performance in the three games prior to the bye week.On Sunday, the opposite was true.
Eight things can be learned from the game:
Pass rush gets home
The 49ers struggled to sack the quarterback in the three weeks before the bye. That was partly due to some coverage issues, but those were cleaned up in Jacksonville and the defensive line responded with 5.0 sacks. Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave had 1.5 sacks each. Clelin Ferrrell added 1.0, with Chase Young and Arik Armstead each notching 0.5 apiece. They also racked up 10 QB hits against a QB in Trevor Lawrence who typically gets the ball out quickly. If San Francisco’s defensive front is going to look like this every week moving forward, they’ll be very tough to beat.
Health is helpful
It turns out playing offense without Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel is hard. San Francisco’s offense looked far more dynamic with both players on the field, and the improved rushing attack helped make life easier on QB Brock Purdy. Samuel contributed three carries for 29 yards and a touchdown, along with four catches on four targets for 30 yards.
A secondary adjustment
There was a clear adjustment from the 49ers’ coaching staff in the secondary after the bye. It looked like they played more press-man coverage. They also removed CB Isaiah Oliver from the slot and put Deommodore Lenoir there with Ambry Thomas taking over the outside spot vacated by Lenoir. Thomas did a terrific job helping hold WR Calvin Ridley to two catches for 20 yards. He also forced a fumble in the red zone that helped the 49ers seal the game. If Thomas continues playing well, this change will likely be permanent.
Turnover turnaround
After giveaways defined the last couple 49ers losses, it was the takeaways that sparked Sunday’s win. The 49ers didn’t turn it over offensively while grabbing four takeaways on defense. Bosa forced and recovered a fumble by Lawrence. Thomas forced and recovered a fumble as well. Lawrence also threw interceptions to Talanoa Hufanga and Fred Warner. The 49ers defense at its best is going to generate takeaways, and it helped them win Sunday.
Red zone issue
The 49ers posted 34 points so it isn’t a huge deal, but they went only one-for-four in the red zone. That makes them 4-for-10 in their last three games. Scoring touchdowns in the red zone is essential so figuring out how to more frequently turn those trips into six points will be paramount if they want to make a real playoff run.
Brock’s bounce back
Purdy bounced back in a big way Sunday after struggling with some late turnovers in previous games. He completed 19-of-26 throws for 296 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers. There were some dynamite throws down the field and some creativity outside of structure that has helped him raise the offense’s ceiling. It wasn’t a perfect outing and his decisiveness looked shaky at points, but ultimately Purdy looked like the player the 49ers were accustomed to seeing the first few weeks.
Getting others involved
Seven different players caught passes for San Francisco on Sunday. It’s become somewhat typical to see Purdy only target four or five players. He spread the wealth Sunday though with completions to George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Kyle Juszczyk, Ronnie Bell and Jauan Jennings. When he’s spreading the ball around it makes it even more difficult for defenses to key in on specific players, routes and throws. Making this more regular will only make Purdy and the 49ers offense better down the road.
Christian McCaffrey’s streak ends
The 49ers tried hard, but couldn’t get McCaffrey a touchdown and his streak of 17 consecutive games with a touchdown came to an end. Had he gotten one to make it 18-straight it would have broken an NFL record set by Lenny Moore. Instead McCaffrey stayed tied with Moore even though he re-entered in garbage time to try and steal a TD. Despite not scoring, McCaffrey had a really effective game with 142 yards on 22 touches.
