SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The formula for success on offense for the San Francisco 49ers has been pretty consistent since Kyle Shanahan took over as coach in 2017.
When the Niners can control the clock,
grind out yards on the ground and wear down the opposition, that typically leads to good results.
That's what has made the past two games so surprising. San Francisco has been forced to go to a pass-happy approach with the running game struggling, but have still managed to win despite passing on nearly two-thirds of their offensive plays.
The 49ers (3-0) will look to get the ground game going on Sunday when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1).
“Every week’s a new week,” said running back Christian McCaffrey, who is averaging only 3.4 yards per carry. “The season comes with a lot of different challenges. Really what it comes down to is executing your job as best as you can and playing beyond the X’s and O’s and taking care of the ball and doing stuff like that. But every play has a life of its own. Every game is different.”
The 49ers have won back-to-back games while failing to rush for 80 yards in either — matching their total number of wins with fewer than 80 yards rushing in the first 145 regular-season and playoff games under Shanahan.
San Francisco has no TD runs through three games for the fourth time ever and backup Mac Jones became the first Niners QB to win back-to-back starts with at least 39 pass attempts since Steve Young in 1998.
The Niners are hoping to get starting quarterback Brock Purdy back this week after he missed two games with a toe injury and would like to be able to establish the run again.
The Jaguars are also trying to change a trend, having lost 11 of their last 12 road games. Doing it out west will be especially challenging for a team that has a 4-15 record all-time on the West Coast with three of those four wins coming in Oakland.
Jacksonville has won both home games this season, while losing in Week 2 at Cincinnati.
“If we can play good, complementary football, better than we did last week, I like what we do,” defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said.
The Niners have the tough task of replacing star edge rusher Nick Bosa after he went down with a season-ending knee injury last week. Bosa was the one proven pass rusher on the roster and now San Francisco will have to rely on first-round rookie Mykel Williams, and veterans Bryce Huff and Yetur Gross-Matos to generate pressure.
“Obviously it’s a huge blow to our team, but we move forward,” linebacker Fred Warner said. "I hate to say next man up mentality because you can’t just replace him with one player. But the mission is still the same.”
The Jaguars lead the league with 13 dropped passes, including six by Brian Thomas Jr. It’s one of several self-inflicted woes the offense is dealing with in coach Liam Coen’s first season.
Jacksonville has been flagged six times for holding, five times for illegal shifts, four times for false starts and once for a delay of game.
“We are still trying to figure out what it is truly we are best at in the pass game and what that looks like,” quarterback Trevor Lawrence said.
Jaguars defensive tackle Arik Armstead is returning to the city where he spent the first nine years (2015-23) of his NFL career. He raved about Shanahan as well as McCaffrey and said he’s most looking forward to reuniting with former teammates after the game.
“You go through a lot of ups and downs with people, just like I’m doing here,” said Armstead, the reigning Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. “That’s what I cherish the most is those relationships, those bonds.
“You’ll forget about games, and you’ll forget about wins and losses or stats at times. But the people that you were with, you don’t really forget about that.”
Jacksonville's two-way rookie Travis Hunter hasn't made a huge impact yet this season with just 76 yards receiving on offense and one pass defensed and nine tackles on defense. With eight snaps on offense this week, Hunter will become the fourth player to play at least 100 snaps both ways in the past 20 seasons.
“I think it’s awesome,” McCaffrey said. “It’s rare you see somebody play on both sides of the ball. So more power to him.”
McCaffrey said he last played both ways in high school when he was a running back and safety with former NFL star Brian Dawkins as his position coach.
“That was the best,” he said. “I had a lot of fun playing under him.”
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AP Pro Football Writer Mark Long contributed to this report
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