The 49ers get back to their dominant form in their 1st game after their bye week
The San Francisco 49ers took just two drives to show that they returned from their bye week looking once again like the dominant team that started the season rather the one that stumbled to three straight losses.
A three-and-out defensively that ended with a sack followed by a touchdown drive capped by a throw from Brock Purdy to Brandon Aiyuk set the stage for the 34-3 victory over Jacksonville on Sunday.
"You go three weeks, losing those three games in a row and then have to take a week after said and just let it fester. We were sick of that feeling," coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday. "I think guys came back from the bye week pretty (angry) and we were really looking forward to this game.
"I think the biggest thing that we emphasized all week was we weren't going into a game trying to blow anybody out. We weren't going into that game trying to score over 30 points. ... We were just going into that game trying to play as good as we could and not worry about anything else."
Now the question for the Niners (6-3) is if they can keep doing that the rest of the second half of the season and get into the playoffs as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Nearly everything that went wrong in the three-game losing streak seemed to get fixed over the bye week. San Francisco got back to its fast, aggressive style on defense and had Trevor Lawrence on the run for much of the day. The 49ers had five sacks, four takeaways and gave up only three points.
The offense got a big boost from the returns from injuries of receiver Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams and overwhelmed the Jaguars.
Purdy also played one of his best games of his young career. He got away with a questionable decision on the TD pass to Aiyuk, but was mostly mistake-free after that.
He finished 19 for 26 for 296 yards, three touchdowns and a career-best 148.9 passer rating. He was able to extend plays with his legs and converted big shots downfield, while eliminating the turnovers that were costly in the losing streak. Purdy had five interceptions the previous three games, prompting an apology to his teammates.
"When you lose games in the NFL, it's like there's a standard, especially with this organization," he said. "We all demand a lot out of ourselves. I was more feeling the pressure just within myself, like, 'Man, I need to play better because of how I've played in the past.' So that's where I was at with it."
WHAT'S WORKING
Pass rush. The addition of Chase Young paid immediate dividends. He combined with former Ohio State teammate Nick Bosa on a second-half sack that led to a fumble recovery. Bosa took advantage of Young's presence to have 1 1/2 sacks on the day after having only three the first eight games. San Francisco finished with five sacks with Javon Hargrave providing a good push from the interior to get 1 1/2 sacks and four pressures.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
Get-back coach. There wasn't much that went wrong for the Niners but they did lose a potential defensive touchdown because of some overexuberance of players and coaches on the bench. Ambry Thomas stripped Christian Kirk on a catch and then fell on the ball for a recovery. He was never touched so got up and ran 92 yards for an apparent touchdown. But Shanahan and several players ran onto the field for a premature celebration, leading to a personal foul that wiped out the touchdown.
STOCK UP
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. The first-year coordinator had come under fire as the defense struggled during a three-game losing streak. He moved from the booth to the field to have better communication with his players. Whether the move was more cosmetic or consequential remains to be seen but the results the first game were outstanding.
STOCK DOWN
Christian McCaffrey's TD streak. The Niners tried their best to get McCaffrey a touchdown in a record-setting 18th consecutive game in the regular season or playoffs. They gave him three touches and another target on four goal-to-go plays late in the game with a 31-point lead, but he couldn't score. McCaffrey has to settle for tying the streak set by Hall of Famer Lenny Moore in the 1960s.
INJURIES
RT Colton McKivitz hurt his ankle in the game and is day to day. ... Williams came out of the game with no further damage to his ankle that sidelined him the past two games.
KEY NUMBER
6 — Purdy was especially sharp on deep throws Sunday. He attempted six passes thrown at least 20 yards downfield, according to PFF, and completed all of them for 163 yards and three TDs. Purdy's 20 completions on deep throws this season are one off the NFL lead and his 66.7% completion rate leads all QBs with at least 10 deep attempts.
NEXT STEPS
San Francisco hosts Tampa Bay on Sunday before starting a tricky three-game stretch that features two games against Seattle surrounding a trip to Philadelphia.
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