Three-game losing streak?
What three-game losing streak?
On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers looked like world-beaters again, blowing out a hot Jacksonville Jaguars team — in Florida, no less — by 31 points to move to 6-3 on the season.
The 34-3 victory was the kind of comprehensive, never-let-up performance we came to expect from the Niners in the early weeks of the season when the juggernauts opened with a 5-0 record.
It was the kind of performance that looked fleeting as the Niners trudged into last weekend’s bye carrying that three-game losing streak.
So, where does the truth lie with this team?
Are the 49ers really the kind of team that blows out playoff-caliber teams like Dallas and Jacksonville, or was that three-game skid the accurate indicator of this squad’s quality?
Here’s another way to put it: Can we trust these Niners?
I think so, because I believe the true Niners are closer to the team we saw Sunday than any other version we’ve seen this season.
Ultimately, the NFL is too competitive for losses not to happen, but good coaching and good players right the ship.
And if you give those good players and coaches an extra week of preparation, as the 49ers had with the bye, course corrections are inevitable.
Not only did the bye give the Niners time to heal two of their most important players and better integrate a new Pro Bowl player, defensive end Chase Young, but it also allowed the Niners’ coaches to self-evaluate and adjust tactics.
Put it all together Sunday, and we saw a team that looked like a Super Bowl contender again, smacking around a team on a five-game winning streak that was garnering love as a darkhorse Super Bowl contender.
These 49ers are no darkhorses.
They’re still favorites — if they can maintain this level of play.
And they better, because San Francisco has one of the NFL’s most challenging schedules ahead.
This team’s biggest key to success was on full display Sunday. It has been evident since Week 2: The Niners’ best players need to play.
Groundbreaking analysis, I know.
But what else can you say after Sunday? What a difference it makes having left tackle Trent Williams and wide receiver Deebo Samuel on the field.
Williams and Samuel, together, raise this offense’s floor. If the Niners need a positive play, they can always run left behind Williams, or give the ball to Deebo. More importantly, those two players remove the weight of the game from quarterback Brock Purdy’s shoulders.
And the kid — still only 23 years old — is pretty good when he can be light on his feet.
Purdy completed 19 of 26 pass attempts for 296 yards and three touchdowns Sunday. Most importantly, he had zero interceptions.
Samuel, even as a decoy, opened up the whole field for Purdy and the Niners’ offense — the Jaguars couldn’t manage him and running back Christian McCaffrey being on the field at the same time. There’s probably not a defense in the NFL that can.
But while the 49ers’ offense receives more attention, it wasn’t the team’s biggest issue during the three-game losing streak.
The defense was. The once-elite unit had become predictable, bland, and lifeless in the 49ers’ prior three games.
Sunday, they were dynamic, innovative, and aggressive.
Just as Niners’ defensive coordinator Steve Wilks deserved criticism for his guys’ play last month, he deserves praise for their play — and the changes he made — on Sunday.
First, Wilks came down from the coach’s booth to better communicate with his players on the sideline. At the same time, he rediscovered some of the aggressive tactics that, for whatever reason, had become rare in recent weeks.
Linebackers were back to feigning blitzes at the line of scrimmage, the Niners’ defensive line was back to shuffling positions and techniques, and Wilks called something other than standard pass coverage.
The changes gave the Niners’ defense the upper hand once again.
Pair the defense and offense we saw Sunday, and it’s hard to imagine anyone beating the Niners.
Of course, every game plan is bespoke, and success in this league can be fleeting. The 49ers had the Jaguars’ number Sunday, but they’ll face different challenges next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs could prove problematic.
But the Niners started the second half of the season with nothing but reasons to be optimistic for the remainder of the campaign.
Quality players made quality plays, and the 49ers picked up a quality win against a quality team.
And quality coaching made it all possible.
It’s hard to be a favorite. It’s a near-impossible task for a successful team — coaches, specifically — to properly balance the desire to stay the course with the need to adapt.
Surely, there will be some more tough times for the Niners ahead.
But when those times come, remember what the Niners did on Sunday.
They righted the ship and played at their best.
And I’ll take a team that can do that any week of the season.
