The San Francisco 49ers are undefeated heading into Week 4. We believe they’ve beaten a quality team, a mediocre team, and a bad team.
Coming away with two victories with a backup quarterback should be viewed as a positive, regardless of the opponent. San Francisco has managed to do so without several of its core players. George Kittle didn’t play in the previous two games. Nick Bosa missed the majority of Week 3. They still don’t have Brandon Aiyuk. That hasn’t prevented the Niners from leaving each game victorious.
This week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Niners have their highest total to date on FanDuel Sportsbook. San Francisco is favored to win by 3.5 points, with a total on the game of 46.5, which is slightly juiced in favor of the over. The total in each of their previous games was anywhere between 43 and 43.5 points. Brock Purdy’s return could have something to do with that.
Trevor Lawrence led Jacksonville to a 26-10 victory in Week 1 over the Carolina Panthers. In Week 2, the Jags had a commanding lead over the Cincinnati Bengals. Then Joe Burrow went down, and Jacksonville forgot how to play defense. Last week, Lawrence and the offense looked awful. He completed 50 percent of his passes for only 222 yards. There were drops, but it was a game Jacksonville loses to a competent opponent. So far this season, that hasn’t been the Houston Texans.
Jacksonville’s secondary looks good statistically, but Jake Browning and the Bengals threw it all over them in the second half of Week 2. The Texans left countless yards and points on the field. The 49ers should score closer to 30 than 20.
That means it’ll be up to Robert Saleh to manufacture a pass rush to limit the Jaguars. Brian Thomas has been shaky at best to start the season. But he’s a first-rounder, and Jacksonville also has Travis Hunter, whom they’ve tried to get the ball to on quick-hitting passes. Travis Etienne has a 71-yarder and a 30-yard rush this season. His big-play ability will be something else the Niners must attempt to contain.
Based on the spread and the total, the 49ers are expected to win by a score of 25-22.
About the Author: Insidethe49
