JACKSONVILLE – Do not preach to the Jaguars about patience, or taking small, measured steps toward a title. In just their fifth season they’re one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl, and after yesterday’s 41-3 rout of five-time champion San Francisco – the most lopsided victory in team history – those odds are starting to look a whole lot better.
The sight of Jerry Rice kneeling woozily on the visiting sideline and the picture of Steve Young getting pounded mercilessly by ravenous, teal-clad defenders made the 49ers look awfully old. And the image of another left-handed No. 8, Mark Brunell, shredding the 49ers’ defense with 22-of-30 passing for 265 yards and a touchdown in the opener made the Super Bowl seem a whole lot closer than even the Jaguars had dared to dream.
“We’ve got the talent,” said wide receiver Jimmy Smith, who caught six passes for 139 yards. “There’s no way we can lose at home. We’ve got a goal – to make the Super Bowl.”
Who could argue their chances, especially with Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde out for the season with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon? Certainly not the 49ers, who were held to three points for the first time in eight years and suffered their worst defeat since a 49-3 loss to the Giants in the 1986 playoffs. Not after the Jags scored 35 unanswered points to turn a 6-3 halftime nail-biter into a laugher for the 68,678 soggy fans at rain-soaked Alltel Stadium.
Despite Brunell’s brilliance and all the free agents the Jags brought in, the biggest addition may have been defensive coordinator Dom Capers. He took over a unit that was 25th in total defense and 28th in sacks; but even without All-Pro LB Bryce Paup (torn pectoral muscle), the Jags forced five turnovers and harassed Young into a 9-of-26, 96-yard, two-interception outing.
And with tailbacks Charlie Garner and Lawrence Phillips unable to replace injured Garrison Hearst, the 49ers – No. 1 in total offense last year – were shut down.
“This was one of those games where everything goes their way, in their favor, and they score in every which way,” said 49ers coach Steve Mariucci. “We seemed helpless, and there didn’t seem like much we could do about it. I’ve got to get better; we’ve got to catch better, throw better, protect better, tackle better, block better, the whole thing. Every phase of the game, we were beaten in. It snowballed against us, and we couldn’t stop it.”
Both teams stopped themselves early, with the 49ers intent on stopping RB Fred Taylor (24 carries, 74 yards) and the Jags’ defensive backs smothering Jerry Rice. The score was tied at 3 until Mike Hollis’ 32-yard field goal with 1:49 left in the half. The 49ers drove to the Jags’ 5-yard line with 46 seconds left when defensive end Tony Brackens beat tackle Dave Fiore and sacked Young, forcing a fumble that Renaldo Wynn recovered to end that drive.
In the second half the Jags went to a short passing attack and drove for a 50-yard Hollis field goal. And the tide turned for good on the ensuing kickoff when rookie Alvis Whitted poked the ball loose from 49ers’ return man R.W. McQuarters. Jason Craft returned the fumble 23 yards score a TD and a 17-3 lead.