Why the 49ers Benched Jaylon Moore at Halftime Against the Jaguars

How bad could the rookie making his first career start at right tackle have been?

The 49ers did something surprising at halftime of a blowout win over the Jaguars this past Sunday.

They benched starting right tackle Jaylon Moore. Benched him even though they were winning 20-3 and facing a dysfunctional team that had no chance to get back in the game.

Why exactly did the 49ers bench Moore? How bad could the rookie making his first career start at right tackle have been?

Shanahan was asked about Moore's benching this week, and downplayed it. "Nothing prompted it. That was the plan going in. We were going to rotate them and play both of them. I didn't even know until after the game that Tom (Compton) played the whole second half and I asked (offensive line coach) Chris (Foerster) why that happened and we just didn't have that many plays. And by the time we got the ball back, he kept it that way, but I see it not changing so far. We’ll see how practice goes this week, but both of those guys are about at the same pace for us. One's got a lot more experience, which makes him a little more consistent, but we also believe in Jaylon and what he has done and what he can become. So, we're trying to play both of them until we see a bigger difference.”

So Shanahan denied benching Moore, but acknowledged that Moore is inconsistent and that's why they don't trust him to play the full game at right tackle yet.

Here were Moore's worst plays from the Jaguars game:

1. 10:33 First Quarter. 1st and 10 at SF 46. 

Jimmy Garoppolo hands off to Trey Sermon, who runs to his left, away from Moore. Moore is supposed to run into the secondary and block Jaguars safety Rudy Ford, but misses him completely, and Ford tackles Sermon after a gain of just two yards when Sermon attempts to cut back between the tackles.

2. 9:11 First Quarter, 3rd and 6 at the 50.

Garoppolo drops back to throw and gets sacked by Dawuane Smoot, who beat Moore with ease around the edge. Fortunately for the 49ers, this sack didn't count, because the Jaguars committed defensive pass interference downfield. But Moore still got beat.

3. 8:11 First Quarter, 2nd and 6 at JAX 41.

Smoot lines up across from Moore again, but this time Smoot jumps to the inside and engages 49ers right guard Daniel Brunskill, Behind Smoot, the Jaguars blitz linebacker Damien Wilson, who runs into the backfield unblocked and sacks Garoppolo. Moore never saw him -- he was too busy following Smoot to the inside.

4. 8:31 Second Quarter, 3rd and Goal at JAX 6.

Moore gets beaten around the edge once again by Smoot, who hits Garoppolo hard as Garoppolo throws a touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk. This was Moore's final play of the game, but not the 49ers' final play of the half -- they had one more drive that resulted in a field goal before halftime. 

So, ou tell me why the 49ers benched Moore.

Watch the full breakdown below: