The San Francisco 49ers are back at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4, with kickoff set for 1:05 p.m.
Playing in three straight close games to begin the year, the 49ers have battled through injuries and adversity to start 3-0, getting clutch defensive stops in each of their games and two go-ahead scoring drives to win so far.
Now, they face a 2-1 Jacksonville Jaguars team that has also been in multiple close games, with their lone loss coming against the Cincinnati
Bengals, who scored a go-ahead touchdown with 18 seconds left to win.
Jacksonville has been a quality team in several metrics, leading the league in turnovers, while putting together some strong defensive performances. Head coach Liam Coen has also bolstered the team’s running game to become one of the best in the NFL.
Dealing with injuries and the recent loss of Nick Bosa, the 49ers could very well be in a ‘prove-it’ environment, with Sunday serving as a bigger litmus test for the team. How does Kyle Shanahan view the game?
“It’s so cliche for me, because I end up feeling this way every week, but I feel like this is a game we need to win,” Shanahan said earlier this week to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. “You can’t lose these types of games. And I know we’re going against a very good team. I know there’s some situations that we need to overcome, but I’ve felt the same way these last three weeks. They can go either way. And we’re sitting here at 3-0, but just a few misplays, a few little different things, and we could be 0-3.
“And I know this game is going to be the exact same. This team is a very good team. I think they have a lot of confidence; them beating Houston the way that they did. I know there’s a lot of people on their team who know what happened when we played them last. So we’re not going to catch them off guard.”
The 49ers could very well be 0-3 with three close games so far. But, in the NFL, the margin for wins is razor-thin, and San Francisco saw the outcome for that last season with six losses in one-score games. They’ve been coming up strong when it matters, which has put them in the driver’s seat in the NFC West.
But, they will be facing a motivated Jaguars team that is looking to find its footing as a whole, coming off an impressive 17-10 win over the Houston Texans. And Shanahan knows that.
“They’re going to come in here hungry, ready to prove themselves,” Shanahan said. “And we’re ready for the challenge. We’re ready to prove ourselves. We’re ready to do it every week. And I see this as one that we need to get.”
San Francisco will need to find some stability offensively and limit turnovers. But, they will return Brock Purdy after he missed the last two weeks with a toe injury, providing a boost there.
