49ers 34, Jaguars 3: 5 Observations On Week 10 Blowout

What did we learn about the Jaguars in their Week 10 loss to the 49ers?

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson thought his team was ready entering a Week 10 showdown with the San Francisco 49ers.

Judging by the 34-3 blowout home loss, they were far from it.

"I thought the team was ready. We failed to execute on the opening drive defensively and we failed to execute on the opening drive offensively. That's the part that is disappointing," Pederson said. 

"Because these guys were ready to go. To have the lack of execution like we did early in the football game, just kind of snowballed from there."

It snowballed, and then some. The Jaguars put together just 20 yards on three first-quarter possessions, allowed the 49ers to score on drives of four and two plays, and simply looked like they were digging a deeper hole for themselves drive in and drive out. 

So, what did we learn during the worst loss of the Jaguars' season? We break it down below.

The Jaguars' progress on offense went out the window, just like that 

Consider me an optimist when it comes to the Jaguars' offense and quarterback Trevor Lawrence. I have tended to take the path of thinking the offense has been improving and better than the sum of its parts in recent weeks, with the final issues for the offense being self-inflicted turnovers. The 49ers proved that wrong in their own way on Sunday, with the Jaguars having likely the worst offensive day in the Doug Pederson era. 

From what I can see, the -0.358 epa and 31.6% success rate are both the worst of the Pederson era.

Worse than both losses this year, last year's 13-6 game vs. Houston, the London game vs. Denver, and the rain game vs. than the Eagles.

— John Shipley (@_John_Shipley) November 13, 2023

For a team with a No. 1 pick at quarterback, several big contracts and high draft picks on the offensive line, one of the highest-paid skill rooms in the NFL, and a coaching staff led by Pederson, the expectations for the offense were always to be better than this. The offensive's bad habits, as Evan Engram said after the game, finally caught up to them. And it did it in a big way.

Travon Walker deserves his flowers 

The stat sheet won't show it, but the eye test sure made it seem like we just saw one of Travon Walker's best games as a pass-rusher. Walker recorded a pair of quarterback hits in the first half before the game got out of hand and the 49ers turned to their running game, with Walker and Josh Allen consistently getting Brock Purdy off his spot. Walker was the sole reason the Jaguars gave up a field goal instead of a potential touchdown at the end of the first-half, forcing an intentional grounding on a near sack.

NFL's Next Gen Stats tracks pass-rusher's average seperation from a quarterback each game, and Walker's 3.56 mark was by far his best of the season. People largely won't be happy until the sacks come, but that doesn't matter nearly as much as improved pressure from Walker does. If Walker can continue to take steps forward, the Jaguars could see big things from him in the season's second-half.

The takeaways dried up and the Jaguars looked mortal 

The Jaguars' defense isn't overrated by any means. Kyle Shanahan has made better defenses look average. It happens. But the one painful reality the Jaguars' defense does have to face is the fact that the entire 2023 season might rely on their ability to generate takeaways. The Jaguars forced 18 turnovers in the first eight games, but Sunday was one of just two games this year the Jaguars forced zero takeaways. The other was their Week 3 blowout loss to Houston, a game in which the defense allowed 30 points. 

In short, it is simply a different defense when they are able to generate takeaways. And it isn't due to a lack of trying. The Jaguars were close on several occasions, with Brock Purdy's first touchdown pass being called by Shanahan as the quarterback's worst decision of his career. There were other plays to be made, too. But for the first time this year, they didn't happen. And when that happened, the Jaguars' defense looked mortal. 

Turnovers continue to be the offense's Achilles heel despite efforts to remedy 

Whether it was Trevor Lawrence, Press Taylor, or a host of other players and coaches, the Jaguars said the same thing during and after their bye week: the key to fixing the offense was to eliminate turnovers. Focus on ball security and stop shooting the offense in its own foot was the message over and over. It was clear that the focus of the Jaguars' offense entering Week 10 was eliminating turnovers.

Then Sunday happened. The Jaguars turned the ball over four times, with a fumble by Trevor Lawrence, a fumble by Christian Kirk, and two interceptions from Lawrence. Three of those turnovers happened past the 50, with Kirk's happening within the 49ers' 10-yard line. The Jaguars have now turned the ball over seven times in their last two games, the first time they have done that since Week's 4 and 5 last year, a stretch where they turned it over five times in one game and scored two touchdowns in two weeks. 

It is time for D'Ernest Johnson to be the No. 2 running back

Sunday just wasn't the day for the Jaguars' running game. Travis Etienne was held completely in check outside of a 16-yard toss play because the 49ers' dominated the Jaguars up front, resulting in a one-dimensional and, frankly, broken offense. But the Jaguars did potentially learn a lesson in their backfield on Sunday, with veteran running back D'Ernest Johnson impressing in a limited role. 

Johnson somehow finished second on the team in receiving yards with 28 yards on two catches, proving to be dangerous, particularly on screen plays. Johnson also showed some legitimate burst and vision in the running game, having one 10-yard run taken off the board due to a holding call. With Tank Bigsby still struggling to make plays, it might be time for Johnson's snaps to increase.