Niner Noise
FanSided

Jaguars vs. 49ers: 5 matchups to watch for San Francisco in Week 16

By Peter Panacy

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 27: #32 Kendall Hunter of the San Francisco 49ers attempts to break free during the NFL International Series game between San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on October 27, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 27: #32 Kendall Hunter of the San Francisco 49ers attempts to break free during the NFL International Series game between San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on October 27, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Carlos Hyde #28 of the San Francisco 49ers is tackled by K.J. Wright #50 of the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on November 26, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Carlos Hyde #28 of the San Francisco 49ers is tackled by K.J. Wright #50 of the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on November 26, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

No. 3: Running Back Carlos Hyde vs. Linebacker Myles Jack

The 49ers defense may be good enough to hold the Jaguars offense in check for a while, but head coach Kyle Shanahan is going to need to engineer a number of effective drives to stand a chance.

Jacksonville enters Week 16 with the league’s No. 1-ranked scoring defense (209 points allowed), and this unit has given up the third-fewest yardage in the NFL as well (3,977).

Needless to say, moving the ball is going to be tough.

But if there is a weakness here, it’s against the run. While the Jaguars are excellent against the pass, they’re also allowing 4.5 yards per rush attempt, which ranks 29th in the league.

This likely means plenty of work for running back Carlos Hyde, who’ll be eyed by second-year Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack.

Jack is starting to develop into a nice player, living up to his once-lofty NFL Draft hype.

Overall, Pro Football Focus has him graded at a respectable 77.2 mark. But his run defense is suspect, coming in at 46.7.

Fortunately, he’ll be lining up on the left side of San Francisco’s offensive line, which is the favored spot for head coach Kyle Shanahan’s run game.

A strong ground game by the Niners may be the only way to tire out a deep-and-talented Jaguars defense, making this matchup vital.