The San Francisco 49ers will look to make it four straight wins as they face the Jacksonville Jaguars. Here we make three bold predictions for the game.
The San Francisco 49ers have a hugely difficult task if they are to continue their winning run when they face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16.
Having won three successive games with Jimmy Garoppolo under center, the 49ers now face a Jacksonville team that boasts the best defense in the NFL and is looking to lock up the AFC South having already sealed a playoff berth.
Here we make three bold predictions for the 49ers’ final home game of the season.
3. Carlos Hyde to outrush Leonard Fournette
Jacksonville may be the best defense in the NFL, but in terms of stopping the run, it is the 49ers who actually have the edge. San Francisco is ranked 16th in the league in run defense by Football Outsiders DVOA, while the Jaguars are a lowly 27th. Additionally, while the 49ers have not allowed 100 yards rushing in each of the last four games, the Jaguars have been porous, giving up an average of 119.25 yards on the ground in the same period.
With Leonard Fournette perhaps somewhat rusty having not played last week, the 49ers should have some confidence of keeping him under wraps – the first-round pick having been kept under four yards a carry in three of his last four games. By contrast, the Jaguars have shown little signs of improvement as a run defending team and should aid Hyde in his quest to get 204 yards and record his first 1,000-yard rushing season.
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2. Trent Taylor to lead the 49ers in catches
Marquise Goodwin has been the star of the show in the receiving core with Garoppolo under center, making 24 receptions for 319 yards in the quarterback’s three starts. He is just 103 yards from his maiden 1,000-yard season but draws a hugely unfavorable matchup with Jalen Ramsey this weekend.
Ramsey is one of the best corners in the league and there is a strong possibility that A.J. Bouye will be able to lock up the likes of Aldrick Robinson and Kendrick Bourne. The obvious beneficiary is therefore Trent Taylor, the rookie slot receiver having become a favorite target of Garoppolo, particularly on third down.
Taylor has caught 12 of his 14 targets from Garoppolo and is adept at using his quickness to win at the top of his route and create separation. Should the Jags succeed in locking up Goodwin as well as Robinson and Bourne, then Garoppolo may look for Taylor even more than usual and the rookie has the hands and route-running ability to enjoy a very profitable day.
1. Yannick Ngakoue to have under three sacks
After Yannick Ngakoue missed out on the Pro Bowl, Jags safety Tashaun Gipson warned Jimmy Garoppolo that Jacksonville’s star defensive end will take his frustrations out on him.
“He [Ngakoue] will get three sacks Sunday, we’ll forget about it, and he’ll be laughing and smiling, but right now stay away from 9-1,” Gipson said this week, per ESPN. “And good luck to 10 [Garoppolo] when we see him Sunday because he’s out to prove something for sure.”
Ngakoue, who has 11 sacks on the season, certainly has the ability to record three on Sunday, particularly with Zane Beadles again set to start at right tackle with Trent Brown out for the season. But Garoppolo has excelled at negating pressure with his quick release and, even with Beadles in the lineup, the Titans only had three sacks as a team last weekend.
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To ask Ngakoue to get that many on his own against a quarterback of Garoppolo’s calibre is a stretch and, given San Francisco’s difficulty in finding consistent guard play this season, the more successful pass rush appears likely to come from the interior of the Jags’ stacked defensive front.