49ers news: 3 quick takeaways from the 26-21 loss to the Jaguars

The San Francisco 49ers had a disappointing 26-21 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, falling short despite having numerous opportunities in a mistake-filled afternoon.

It was not a pretty game from the start for the 49ers, who had multiple early turnovers and continuously dug themselves into holes.

Quarterback Brock Purdy made his return, but didn’t look the part, while several injuries at wide receiver hurt the 49ers late in the game.

Here are three quick takeaways from the 49ers 26-21 loss to the Jaguars.

Questionable decision-making from Purdy

It was a rough afternoon for Brock Purdy, who had three turnovers, including a fumble that cost the 49ers the game late in the fourth quarter.

The turnovers were back-breakers for the 49ers. Purdy’s first interception came when the 49ers were driving in Jacksonville territory. He had multiple checkdown options open, but forced a pass over the middle of the field to Christian McCaffrey that was a little high and went off the running back’s hands into those of Devin Lloyd.

Purdy’s second interception came after a major defensive stop in the third quarter, as the 49ers had all the momentum on their side after scoring a touchdown to open the second half. It was a killer, coming on the first play of the drive, as his pass was intercepted by Lloyd again after being tipped at the line of scrimmage.

The decision wasn’t a great one anyway, as the intended receiver, Jauan Jennings, seemed well-covered by defenders running a dig, and gave Jacksonville great field position.

The third one was the clincher, though, as the 49ers got to the 50-yard line before Purdy fumbled after getting sacked by Arik Armstead.

The turnovers were brutal, but they weren’t the only issues on Sunday. Purdy consistently missed open receivers high, and was late on a few throws and reads (including a key deep out to Ricky Pearsall).

It doesn’t help that the 49ers struggled in the run game again, due to run-blocking woes, as one of my keys was calming down Purdy’s gunslinger mentality. San Francisco also had a different receiver core.

But, the 49ers paid Purdy big-time money to show up in games like this. He did not on Sunday.

Red zone woes continue

Another one of my keys to the game was executing in the red zone. And the 49ers continued to struggle there.

San Francisco entered the game as the 24th-best red zone offense. They were facing a defense that led the league in limiting red zone trips (two per game), and was 11th in opponent red zone touchdown rate.

The 49ers had an opportunity early on, going on a 13-play, 57-yard drive. But, when it came to the red zone, their struggles came out. San Francisco couldn’t run the ball (Christian McCaffrey had two carries for one yard), and Eddy Piniero had to settle for a 26-yard field goal.

On their next opportunity, the 49ers got within the 10-yard line once again. McCaffrey had a two-yard run on 1st & Goal to set them up at the 5-yard line. On second down, Brock Purdy had Jauan Jennings open for a touchdown, but the pass was low and behind. Jennings had a good chance to catch it, as Purdy placed it away from defenders, but dropped it. On 3rd down, Purdy had Jennings open over the middle of the field, but missed that read and was forced to throw it away after scrambling.

Just like that, another red zone chance led to another field goal.

San Francisco finally did get a touchdown on their third red zone drive, with Kyle Shanahan dialing up a nice shovel play to Christian McCaffrey for the score. But, that was the last time the 49ers got into the red zone, going 1/3 on the day.

The 49ers were close on three other occasions, scoring a touchdown from the 21-yard line. But, they also had two fumbles and an interception in plus territory, derailing other drives and making the red zone chances count even more.

Defense shines, but can’t replicate ending

The defense was a bright spot for the 49ers, for the most part.

San Francisco struggled to contain the run at times, including an early 48-yard touchdown run from Travis Ettienne Jr. in the first quarter, where the 49ers didn’t edge set well, and Jason Pinnock missed a big play.

Jacksonville was able to run for 151 yards, and Trevor Lawrence completed 15 of his first 20 passes while facing minimal pressure in the pocket.

But, the defense showed up in some big spots. With Jacksonville driving on their opening possession into San Francisco territory, the 49ers forced back-to-back negative plays, thanks to a good edge set from Deommodore Lenoir on first down and a tackle for loss from Bryce Huff on second down. A third-down incompletion forced the Jaguars to punt in plus territory.

In the second half, though, is where things turned up. The 49ers forced two straight punts when the offense needed it to open up the third quarter. Then, after being put in a bad position thanks to a Brock Purdy interception, the defense forced a field goal to keep things a one-score game at 20-14.

In the fourth quarter, the 49ers forced another three-and-out and got a crucial third-down stop with under four minutes left that led to a missed field goal from Cam Little to give the offense one final chance.

The defense did have some tough moments, including the 48-yard rushing touchdown for Ettienne after the Jake Tonges fumble. They also gave up a 13-play, 89-yard touchdown drive and allowed a 40-second, six-play, 39-yard field goal drive to end the quarter.

Still, they were put in some tough situations, as the offense and special teams did not play good complementary football. And that was the case at the end of the game, as Jacksonville got a crucial first down to settle things and pull off the victory.

Looking back, one thing is clear, however: the 49ers need a pass rusher. There was just no pressure whatsoever on Trevor Lawrence, who looked as comfortable as he has all season long. There may be need to be reinforcements there.

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