Santa Clara – Brock Purdy returned as the starting quarterback after missing two games but struggled to find rhythm with the offense. Several of his throws sailed high or went into coverage, resulting in costly turnovers. The 49ers’ struggles ended their three-game winning streak in a 26-12 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“We had one punt in each half, four turnovers, one of them that I think would’ve been a touchdown,” said 49er head coach Kyle Shanahan. “It was tough to overcome those four turnovers. Then you give up a punt return for a touchdown.”
Purdy threw for 309 yards with two touchdowns but was intercepted twice, both by linebacker Devin Lloyd. Eddy Piñeiro provided the 49ers’ early points with field goals of 26 and 23 yards in the first and second quarters. San Francisco’s defense held the Jaguars scoreless through the opening quarter, but the momentum shifted soon after.
The 49ers couldn’t contain Travis Etienne, who broke free for a 48-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Moments later, Purdy’s pass to Luke Farrell was broken up by two defenders, resulting in a fumble. Jacksonville quickly capitalized on Etienne’s score to take a 7-3 lead.
“I just got to be better,” Purdy said. “As an offense, it’s something that we harp on every single day and our team knows it. Offense needs to protect the ball; defense needs to go take it. That’s our thing. We didn’t succeed in that area. So, it hurts. It’s the NFL man, if you give the ball away like that, teams are going to capitalize on it and the Jaguars did.”
Purdy answered with a 32-yard strike to Ricky Pearsall, but his next throw, intended for Christian McCaffrey in tight coverage, was tipped and intercepted by Devin Lloyd, San Francisco’s second consecutive turnover. Jacksonville capitalized later in the quarter when Trevor Lawrence connected with Hunter Long for a 4-yard touchdown, stretching the lead to 14-3.
With just over a minute left in the half, the 49ers turned to a trick play to spark their offense. Purdy hit Pearsall on a short 3-yard pass, who lateraled to McCaffrey for a 20-yard gain and a first down. Still unable to find the end zone, San Francisco settled for Piñeiro’s 23-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-6. The Jaguars responded before halftime with a 26-yard field goal, sending the 49ers into the break trailing 17-6.
“I think just move on. I think we lost today,” said McCaffrey. “We didn’t play good enough. We made a bunch of mistakes and still had a chance to win. With an early game coming up, you just correct the mistakes. A lot of the mistakes are super uncharacteristic. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and just move on because it’s a quick turnaround. It was a bad game all around. We’re excited to move on from it.”
“We took too long to get going,” LB Fred Warner said. “That first half was not good enough. There were too many explosive runs and too much leaky yardage. I think in the second half it was better, but still not up to our standard. Guys need to know where they’re fitting, getting on and off blocks, making tackles, wrapping up and driving for five. So obviously, we’ll be looking to be better at that this week, going into next week.”
A calmer, more focused Purdy marched the 49ers downfield with completions to Jake Tonges (24 yards) and Jauan Jennings (14 yards), aided by two defensive penalties. He capped the drive with an 8-yard shuffle pass to Christian McCaffrey for a touchdown, then connected with Jennings on the two-point conversion to pull San Francisco within 17-14.
But momentum shifted quickly. Purdy’s next pass, intended for Jennings, was intercepted by Lloyd, his second of the game. Jacksonville capitalized as Cam Little drilled a 44-yard field goal to make it 20-14 with 4:07 left in the third quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Parker Washington broke loose for an 87-yard return touchdown. The Jaguars’ two-point conversion attempt failed, but they extended their lead to 26-14.
Late in the fourth, Purdy connected with Tonges again for a 21-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 26-21. Tonges finished with three receptions for a career-high 58 yards, including the 21-yard score, the second touchdown of his career and the longest catch of his career.
“What does a 3-1 team feel like? [laughs]”, said Trent Williams. “We got 17 games and we’re four weeks in. We have a big Thursday night game against a big divisional rival (Los Angeles Rams). That’s all we’re focused on. The record will speak for itself at the end of the year.”
Photo by 49ers/Twitter
