5 crucial takeaways from 49ers Week 11 win vs. Jaguars
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers’ dominant win on the road over the Jaguars proved a number of things about the state of the team over the rest of 2021.
The San Francisco 49ers didn’t suffer any sort of let-down game after beating the Los Angeles Rams in decisive fashion a week ago, worrying about the ever-present trap game in Week 11 after traveling to Florida on a short week to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Nope, the Niners proved to be the far more decisive team on Sunday, demolishing the lowly Jags 30-10 in a game where all three phases were wholly in San Francisco’s favor.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was more than good enough, wide receiver Deebo Samuel continues to prove his versatility, EDGE Nick Bosa is one of the league’s best pass-rushers and so on.
And, yes. Jacksonville is awfully bad, too. But fans knew that already.
There are, however, some other key takeaways from the 49ers’ vantage point, so let’s break down what we learned from this particular contest.
No. 5: Deebo Samuel has been 49ers MVP
He might have only had one catch for 15 yards, and that would be considered a down day for any top receiver.
For Samuel, however, he’s never far away from contributing in other ways.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan knew the Jaguars would have difficulty defending to the outside with Samuel, who still managed to take advantage of a good Jags run defense that entered the game allowing just 3.9 yards per rush by spewing out a game-best 79 yards on eight carries, averaging 9.9 yards per attempt, including a 25-yard rushing touchdown.
It doesn’t matter what Samuel is doing. Not only is he capable of being among the NFL’s leaders in receiving yards, especially with what he can do after the catch, but his all-purpose usage as a dual-threat option makes for one of the league’s most useful commodities.
The Niners wouldn’t have all five of their wins this season if it weren’t for Samuel, and he still made massive contributions despite having just the lone catch.