Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4 SU, 9-5 ATS) vs. San Francisco 49ers (4-10 SU, 7-7 ATS)
Week 16 NFL
Date/Time: Sunday, December 24, 2017 at 4:05PM EST
Where: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California
TV: CBS
By Loot, NFL Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Point Spread: JAC -4.5/SF +4.5
Over/Under Total: 42.5
The Jacksonville Jaguars come to Levi's Stadium on Sunday to take on the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams won on Sunday. Jacksonville clinched a playoff spot on Sunday with their 10th win of the season and look to lock up the division this week. On Sunday, they smashed Houston, 45-7. For the Niners, their playoff hopes have long since been dashed, but they continue trying hard to iron out the kinks for the future and continued seeing good results on Sunday with a 25-23 win over the Titans.
Jacksonville is really starting to develop an air of quality. Seven out of 8 wins is a strong statement and they are developing a consistency in how they apply their winning formula. Blake Bortles is starting to get more and more out of the aerial game and they are making it work without dynamic rookie back Leonard Fournette, whose return should be imminent. A playmaking defense that flexes stout play across all areas has been a big asset and is now ranked as the stingiest defense in the league in allowing less than 15 points a game. It's been a long time since we perceived the Jags as a contender, but all the signs are in place.
Bortles has started to see the passing-game work better and he was big against Houston with 326 yards and 3 TD passes. He has done it with the top receivers out with injury. As of late, rookie Keelan Cole has been showcasing his talent and was huge with 186 yards and a TD on Sunday. Jaydon Mickens stepped up with two touchdowns on Sunday and they keep finding young receiving talent that was buried on their roster. The run-game can still make some things happen with the depth they have in Chris Ivory, Corey Grant, and TJ Yeldon. But Fournette's return will be welcome. This offense appears to be peaking at just the right time.
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It's hard to not like the Jacksonville defense, as it looks stacked with talent. Eight times this season, opponents have failed to surpass 10 points. The front is strong with Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue, Dante Fowler, Marcell Dareus, and Malik Jackson. On Sunday, Campbell had two sacks and now has 14.5 on the season, while Fowler and Jackson also had sacks. The secondary is the top-ranked pass-defense in the league. S Barry Church had an interception on Sunday and the team has 21 on the season. They have a plus-15 in turnover ratio and have scored 6 times this season. Whether they go far this season remains to be seen, but their defense certainly looks the part.
To see the 49ers putting it together after starting the season at a demoralizing 0-9 really says a lot about where they're coming from. To win three in a row and four out of five really says a lot and they have managed to surge in the face of a crippling amount of injuries on both sides of the ball. The offense seems to have more of a winning vibe since acquiring Jimmy Garoppolo and the defense has really bucked the odds and held steady, despite a big chunk of their guys on IR. On Sunday, it looked like the Titans had sealed it with a FG with just over a minute left. But Garoppolo was clutch and set Robbie Gould up for the game-winning kick as the clock hit zero. For them to out-gut a team playing for a playoff spot shows they mean business as this season comes to a close.
Garoppolo was big on Sunday with 381 yards, along with the steel-nerved play late. Early receipts on the move to acquire the New England backup are positive as the results show. The run-game, led by Carlos Hyde, didn't deliver on Sunday, so it was up to Garoppolo and his targets. He has developed a nice chemistry with Marquise Goodwin, who had ten catches for 114 yards on Sunday. He's working well with TE Garrett Celek, who caught another TD on Sunday. Sparsely-utilized rookie receiver Kendrick Bourne had a 54-yard catch, with young developing targets WR Trent Taylor and TE George Kittle also chipping in with some nice catches on Sunday.
The 49ers have had to dig deep into the barrel for answers on defense, but they are seeing some good results. S Eric Reid and DeForest Buckner up front are established on this side of the ball, with DE Solomon Thomas and LB Reuben Foster a pair of rookies who are becoming consistent contributors. They really haven't caught many breaks from a personnel standpoint, but they are obviously on the right track. Over the past few seasons, this defense sunk to low depths. They are now a group that is on the rise.
This is a game that is a little out of Jacksonville's element in Santa Clara against a team they don't see much of. And while there is a big gap in the importance of the game for each team, it doesn't seem like the 49ers care. They are hungry, trying hard, and looking to expedite what looked to be a rebuild that could take several seasons. At the same time, the Jags have been strong on the road this season and represent a jump from the teams the Niners have been beating lately. I see the Jacksonville pass-defense stepping up,
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