Jaguars vs. 49ers: Week 16 San Francisco grades and analysis

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SANTA CLARA, CA – DECEMBER 24: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers congratulates Jimmy Garoppolo #10 after a one-yard touchdown run against the Jacksonville Jaguars during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images) /

Special Teams & Coaching

Week 16 marked the first true test for head coach Kyle Shanahan in this recent winning streak.

And it’s safe to say his game plan worked.

Shanahan’s offense mustered 369 total yards against one of the best defenses in the NFL, doing so against an elite Jacksonville front seven and secondary.

That’s pretty notable in of itself, but we also need to give credit to defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.

Special Teams

Kicker Robbie Gould only needed to be counted on once for a field goal, and he made that. So that’s a plus.

The 49ers had one of their extra points blocked, but that fortunately didn’t come back to haunt them.

It didn’t exactly matter, but the inability to recover a Jaguars onside kick in the waning minutes wasn’t a good look. In fairness, the Niners haven’t been in many of those positions where opponents are attempting such tries this season.

Grade: C-

Coaching

Shanahan probably should have dialed up a game plan that involved a lot of the run game, but things didn’t work out that way.

More from Niner Noise

Part of this could be due to Jimmy Garoppolo and the pass offense experiencing so much success in quarters one, three and four. And if it isn’t broke, why fix it?

While it wasn’t always pretty, the Niners were “only” flagged eight times for 68 yards. The yellow flags were much more a problem for Jacksonville, and that played to San Francisco’s advantage.

Saleh, coaching against his former employer, focused his unit’s efforts on stopping Leonard Fournette and the running game. That worked, but it’s also nice to see the defense manage X turnovers, which ultimately led to San Francisco’s victory.

Considering the magnitude of the contest, we need to give credit to both Shanahan and Saleh for dialing up a successful recipe in Week 16.

Next: Jaguars vs. 49ers: Full Week 16 preview for San Francisco

Grade: B