The San Francisco 49ers are 3-0 heading into their second straight home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, as they look to remain atop the NFC West early in the season.
Jacksonville, like the 49ers, has been in some close games, losing a heartbreaker to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2 on a go-ahead touchdown with 18 seconds left, while beating the Houston Texans in Week 3 with a defensive stand on the final possession.
The Jaguars have seen some struggles offensively. Trevor Lawrence is second in the NFL in interceptions, receivers have dropped 13 passes, and rookie Travis Hunter has yet to get going through three games.
But, their defense is what presents a unique challenge. The Jaguars are the NFL’s leaders in takeaways, while limiting scoring chances for opposing offenses in the red zone.
For the 49ers, one big issue with them so far has been their struggles in the red zone, specifically with running the ball. Christian McCaffrey is third in the NFL with 13 red zone rushing attempts, but he has only seven rushing yards on those carries. And it’s not like the issue is coming inside the five-yard line or anything; McCaffrey has seven carries for two yards between the 20 and 10-yard line.
What has been San Francisco’s biggest issue with running the ball in the red zone?
“It’s never one thing,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak acknowledged on Thursday. “It’s always tougher running the ball in the red zone. There’s more bodies down there, so that’s the starting point. But, we were close on a few things last week, we really were.
“I mean, we missed a block here, we maybe don’t make the best cut on one run. So, it’s never one thing, and it’s a collective effort down there. We want to run the ball better in the red zone. We are continuing to work at it, so it’s not a matter of intent or anything like that. To answer with one thing, it’s not. We did have a couple we were close. We were just a guy off, and we’ve got to get better. That’s going to help our red zone.”
The run game struggles have led to overall struggles in the red zone for the 49ers. San Francisco currently ranks 24th in red zone touchdown percentage.
Back in 2023, when they were one of the most prolific offenses in the league, McCaffrey had the most red zone rushing attempts in the NFL, and averaged a much better 3.06 yards per carry on carries inside the 20-yard line. That figure improved to 4.3 yards per carry between the 20 and the 10-yard line. Positive yards are crucial in the red zone, and San Francisco simply isn’t getting that at the moment.
They’ll be facing a Jaguars defense that has been elite at limiting red zone opportunities. Jacksonville ranks second in the NFL, allowing just two red zone trips per game. They are also 11th with a 50 percent red zone touchdown rate, stopping opponents at a good enough level.
Getting to the red zone will be a challenge, but San Francisco will also need to find ways to execute down there if they want the success they’re looking for on Sunday.
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