Coming off their bye week, the San Francisco 49ers are gearing up to face a challenging opponent in the Jacksonville Jaguars. Breaking their three-game losing streak against a formidable 6-2 Jaguars team could set the tone for the rest of the season.
Head coach Doug Pederson has his Jaguars rolling, riding a five-game winning streak. His young quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, is on track to surpass 4,000 passing yards for the second consecutive season.
Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers faced Lawrence once before, during a 30-10 win in 2021. What does San Francisco's head coach see in the third-year quarterback compared to that last meeting?
"I mean, very similar," Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday. "I think Trevor is one of the more talented quarterbacks in this league. He's a problem at any time. The height he has, the size he has in that pocket. He can make any throw and what he can do with his legs on any type of play, whether it's a design run for him or just getting out of the pocket and doing off-schedule stuff. He's always a problem."
Defensive end Nick Bosa offered a glimpse of the 49ers' plan for the Jaguars quarterback, with the defense focusing on limiting Lawrence's options and capitalizing on potential errors.
"You stop the run, and you stop the screens and the RPOs and the quick game, and you try and force him into playing quarterback, playing the position, going through reads, and hopefully, later in the game, make those plays," Bosa said.
Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke have done their best to surround Lawrence with talented players like wide receivers Calvin Ridley and Christian Kirk, tight end Evan Engram, and running back Travis Etienne.
"The first thing that pops off the tape with their offense is how talented they are all over the board, running back, receivers, big, physical O-line," linebacker Fred Warner said. "So we got a great challenge for us this week. Wouldn't want any other way."
While 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey still leads the NFL with 652 rushing yards, Etienne ranks sixth with 583 rushing yards. The defense believes returning to playing mistake-free football will be crucial in stopping the Jaguars' rushing attack.
When asked about the plan to limit Etienne, Bosa stated, "Setting edges and just running to the ball, putting pads on him, getting back to who we are. Every play, just swarming."
The Jaguars' defense, despite allowing 342.8 yards per game, boasts a formidable run defense, ranking third in the NFL by allowing only 79.2 yards on average. In Week 8, they held the Pittsburgh Steelers to just 261 total yards.
Shanahan praised the Jaguars' defense, saying, "I think it's the best. Them and Cleveland are definitely the best two defenses we played this year. I think they're playing at an extremely high level, and they're not giving up yards. They're one of the hardest teams in the league to run the ball against. I think they're number one in getting turnovers. I think they're number three in giving up explosives.
"So, they're a bend but don't break defense because they're not giving up explosives, and it's really tough to run the ball against them, and they lead the league in turnovers. So, it's not a surprise they've won five in a row."