49ers put on a Defensive Beatdown in 34-3 Win Against the Jaguars

The San Francisco 49ers defense is alive and well again after they put on a beatdown in their win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It's alive!

The San Francisco 49ers defense is alive and well again after they put on a beatdown in their win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Panic ensued in the 49ers' last two games. The defense was not playing up to its standard at all and was a contributing factor into their last two losses. Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was being criticized, and arguably scapegoated, like no other. Against the Jaguars, however, they came to play. The 49ers defense came out of the Bye week and let out all of their pent up anger on the Jaguars offense. They completely suffocated the Jacksonville offense. 

It started by making their run game obsolete. Running back Travis Etienne, one of the better backs in the league, was irrelevant. He only mustered 35 yards on nine carries and was useless in the pass game as well. It didn't get much better when the Jaguars tried to attack in the air either. In fact, it was dramatically worse. Trevor Lawrence couldn't do anything. He completed 17-of-29 passes for 185 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions. The 49ers were giving little to nothing through the air.

Lawrence couldn't find an open receiver due to the tight coverage from the 49ers.  Because of that tight coverage, it allowed the pass rush to finally come alive. The 49ers defensive front was able to sack Lawrence five times. Newly acquired pass rusher Chase Young instantly made his presence felt today by registering half a sack, but really everyone else came alive as well. Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Javon Hargrave, and even Clelin Ferrell all got in on the flurry of sacks. The players on the defensive line stepped up today and looked like the monsters they were always capable of being. 

This is a much needed bounce back game for the 49ers defense, but really the team as a whole. The offense hasn't been great either during the losing streak and they had themselves a day against the Jaguars as well. Brock Purdy looked silky smooth today throwing three touchdowns and 296 yards on 19-of-26 completed passes. Deebo Samuel scored in his first game back, Brandon Aiyuk scored for the first time since Week 1, and Christian McCaffrey is Christian McCaffrey.

But the story of the game is that the 49ers defense looked like themselves. It was getting dark there for a second. This game may have quelled all those concerns going forward.