49ers: The good, bad and ugly from Week 16 win over Jaguars

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SANTA CLARA, CA – DECEMBER 24: Leonard Fournette #27 of the Jacksonville Jaguars carries the ball for a 1-yard touchdown run against the San Francisco 49ers during their NFL football game at Levi’s Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

The good

49ers rush defense

It is easy to see just how good Fournette is as a player just by watching his tape from this season. Fournette is one of the league’s best young running backs and has factored into the Jaguars’ turnaround. Against the 49ers, Fournette struggled mightily.

And it was a key to victory for San Francisco.

Fournette had 18 carries for 48 yards with one touchdown. That is an average of 2.7 yards per carry, 1.3 yards lower than his season average. Fournette had three receptions, but for only 22 yards.

All game long, Fournette routinely was stymied at the line of scrimmage. With the rushing offense failing, it was on quarterback Blake Bortles to win. It was too much for Bortles, who was forced into three interceptions.

Jimmy Garoppolo

It is simple, Garoppolo’s passing was a major factor why the 49ers came out on top. Garoppolo was again efficient throwing the ball, completing 70 percent of his passes while en route to his first multi-touchdown performance since joining San Francisco.

You knew it was going to be a good day from Garoppolo after the first series — a 10-play, 79-yard scoring drive to open the game.

His last touchdown pass was a thing of absolute beauty:

.@JimmyG_10 finds @Trent5Taylor and it's another @49ers TOUCHDOWN! #GoNiners #JAXvsSF https://t.co/Tdr3iL3417
— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2017

The fact that Garoppolo carved up the NFL’s No. 1 defense without a true top wide receiver and an offensive line missing one of its best player is flat out remarkable. The Jaguars have two Pro Bowl cornerbacks, and Garoppolo faced little resistance in the passing game.

Red zone efficiency

One of the few troubling facets of the Garoppolo-led offense has the inability to score in the red zone. Field goals were easy to come by, but touchdowns were scarce.

That changed against Jacksonville.

In all, the 49ers scored four touchdowns in the red zone. Runs by Garoppolo (one yard) and running back Carlos Hyde (six yards), and catches by tight end George Kittle (eight yards) and wide receiver Trent Taylor (five yards) capped off the excellent day in the red zone.

That ability to punch it in for six was a dynamic that shifted the game in favor of the 49ers. Gould’s six-field goal performance was masterful in Week 15 against the Titans, but would not have gotten the job done versus the Jaguars.