Jaguars-49ers Preview

VIDEO PLAYLIST

• Countdown Daily Recap: Jaguars-49ers

SCOUTING REPORT

Jaguars-49ers: 10 observations After breaking down film of both teams, Scouts Inc. offers 10 things to watch in this week's Jaguars-49ers matchup. 1. Jacksonville needs to establish a strong ground game: This is strength against strength. The 49ers are holding opponents to under 100 yards per game on the ground while Jacksonville is in the top five in both rushing yards per game and yards per carry. Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio wants to build his passing game on the play-action fake, which is pretty much ineffective when the ground game is not working.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
JAC	7-9	290	380	5-3	2-6	3-3	6-6
SFO	8-8	330	281	6-2	2-6	5-1	7-5
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Jacksonville Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Garrar... 60.9 3597 15 10 McCown 33.3 2 0 0

San Francisco Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Smith 60.5 2350 18 12 Hill 56.1 943 5 2

Jacksonville Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Jones-... 312 1391 4.5 15 Garrar... 77 323 4.2 3

San Francisco Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Gore 229 1120 4.9 10 Coffee 83 226 2.7 1

Jacksonville Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Sims-W... 63 869 13.8 7 Holt 51 722 14.2 0

San Francisco Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Davis 78 965 12.4 13 Crabtr... 48 625 13.0 2

Full Player Stats: Jacksonville | San Francisco

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	JAC	337.0
	SFO	291.0
Yards Passing	JAC	209.8
	SFO	190.8
Yards Rushing	JAC	126.8
	SFO	100.0
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	JAC	352.3
	SFO	326.4
Pass Yds Allowed	JAC	235.9
	SFO	229.4
Rush Yds Allowed	JAC	116.4
	SFO	97.0

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Series tied 1-1
Dec 18, 2005	JAC 10, @SFO 9

Jacksonville's last trip to the West Coast more than a month ago proved to be a turning point in its season.

A more confident team since then, the Jaguars look for a fourth straight victory when they again head west to face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Even before they took the field, the Jaguars (6-4) should have known their trip to Seattle on Oct. 11 wouldn't be a good one.

Defensive end Quentin Groves caused a three-car accident on his way to the airport, missed the charter flight and got fined by coach Jack Del Rio. Receiver Mike Sims-Walker missed curfew before the game and got benched. On the field, David Garrard was sacked five times and Jacksonville lost 41-0 for its most lopsided defeat in Del Rio's seven seasons.

Since then, the Jaguars have climbed back into AFC wild-card contention after winning four of five, including three straight over Kansas City, the New York Jets and Buffalo -- teams currently on the outside of the playoff picture.

"Everybody makes mistakes," said running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who called out the team and questioned play-calling, personnel decisions and the offense's identity after the loss in Seattle. "We learn from our mistakes."

Jacksonville is facing San Francisco (4-6) for the first time since a 10-9 home win Dec. 18, 2008. The Jaguars are 2-0 all-time against the 49ers, but have never played at Candlestick Park.

San Francisco has dropped five of its last six, including a 30-24 defeat at Green Bay last Sunday.

After winning their last three games by a combined eight points and their last two on the final drive, the Jaguars aren't going to take another opponent with a losing record lightly.

"We're not content, we're not comfortable," said Sims-Walker, who has 47 receptions for 694 yards and six TDs. "We know we still have a lot of work to put in and a lot of work to do to reach the playoffs. We've got to keep fighting. We're not letting up at all."

One week after Garrard drove the Jaguars down the field to set up Josh Scobee's game-winning 21-yard field goal in a 24-22 victory over the Jets, he guided them 68 yards and hit Sims-Walker for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 56 seconds left to beat Buffalo 18-15 last Sunday.

Jones-Drew rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. His 13th TD tied a career high set in 2006. Jones-Drew has run for at least one touchdown in five straight games and has scored 25 times on the ground since the beginning of the 2008 season -- the most among AFC players.

The Jaguars' star running back should pose a serious challenge for the 49ers, who gave up 129 yards on the ground to Green Bay's Ryan Grant last week -- a below-average effort for a defense that ranks sixth in the league with 94.7 rushing yards allowed per contest.

Despite his team's decline since a 3-1 start, San Francisco coach Mike Singletary still believes the 49ers can challenge for a playoff spot.

"At the very start of the season, our goal was to win enough games to go to the playoffs. That is still our goal. That will not change," said Singletary, whose club's last four losses have been by a combined 20 points. "We're a team, in my mind, good enough to do that. We're running out of games, and we're running out of time."

Inconsistency on the offensive side of the ball continues to plague the 49ers.

After squeaking out a 10-6 win over Chicago on Nov. 12, San Francisco scored 21 second-half points to rally from a 23-3 deficit before falling short against the Packers.

Frank Gore rushed seven times for 59 yards and caught a TD pass last weekend, giving him a touchdown in four straight games. Gore, who's rushed for 610 yards this season, ran the ball 19 times for 79 yards in his only game against Jacksonville in 2005.

Alex Smith threw three of his nine touchdown passes last Sunday, but was also intercepted to increase his season total to seven.

Leaders talk wording of 49ers stadium measure

Santa Clara city leaders are set to discuss the final wording of the ballot measure for a proposed stadium for the San Francisco 49ers.

Wickersham: The future of the NFL

Seth Wickersham looks at the labor dispute that is hanging over the NFL and what the future may hold for the league.

Scouts Inc.: AFC offseason needs

You can think of this as the ultimate primer for the NFL offseason, or at least the AFC offseason: Gary Horton of Scouts Inc. breaks down all the squads in the AFC and tells you their top three needs to address, be it via the draft or free agency.

Owners talk labor situation; status quo reigns

NFL owners have met for several hours to discuss the labor situation, although it appears they are no closer to reaching an agreement with the players' union for a new collective bargaining agreement.

Jaguars coach blasts Henderson for leaving workout because of 'minor' shoulder injury

RICK WILSON/The Times-UnionJaguars defensive tackle John Henderson grabs his left shoulder during an organized team activity session Monday at the practice fields adjacent to Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.

Safety McCree set to rejoin Jaguars

DON BURK/The Times-UnionMarlon McCree , with San Diego in this 2007 photo, is set to return to the Jaguars.

After lost season, Jags seek how to put 'train' back on track

Among the league's most disappointing teams last season, the Jacksonville Jaguars never came close to meeting expectations as a chic preseason Super Bowl pick.

NewFull-speed ahead for Jaguars safety Nelson

RICK WILSON/The Times-Union Jaguars safety Reggie Nelson breaks up a pass intended for Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco during the Jaguars' 21-19 loss in Cincinnati on Nov.

Ex-Jaguar pleads not guilty to drug charges

Former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith pleaded not guilty to several charges Thursday including possession of cocaine and marijuana.

Santa Clara approves financing plan for 49ers stadium

Nearly three years after Santa Clara's hopes of landing an NFL stadium came to life, the City Council early this morning carried that dream over yet another key hurdle ? approving a long-awaited financing plan with the San Francisco 49ers.

CB Bly blows into camp

"My instincts are still very instinctive," he said. Good to know. When Walt Harris tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee two weeks ago, the 49ers were in need of a top-flight cornerback.

Newsom to Santa Clara: Don't build stadium

The Santa Clara City Council may decide tonight to bless a $937 million stadium project for the San Francisco 49ers.

Sharing stadium not such bad idea

THE ONLY ABSOLUTE about a sports team seeking a new home is the presence of anger.

Singletary's 'intensity' could be rallying point for middling 49ers

The new uniforms bring to mind the San Francisco 49ers of the championship years.