JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson spent several hours over three days this week watching cutups from a team not even on Jacksonville’s schedule.
Robinson and his fellow linemen broke down clips of the Washington Commanders and former defensive end Chase Young while trying to project how he’ll fit with the San Francisco 49ers.
“It’s a puzzle,” Robinson said. “It’s just understanding the scheme he was in in Washington and how it’s different than the scheme he’s in now.”
So the surging Jaguars (6-2) will be taking an educated guess into Sunday’s game against the reeling 49ers (5-3), a matchup that features Young’s debut with his new team.
“He’s an excellent football player,” said Pederson, the former Philadelphia coach who's 0-2 against Young after losing both meetings between the Eagles and Commanders in 2020. “It’s a challenge to have two edge rushers like this, but we’ve done this before. ... Our guys will be up for the challenge.”
Jacksonville will have its starting offensive line intact for just the second game this season. Robinson and left guard Walker Little played just 11 snaps together against Buffalo in London last month before Little left with a knee injury that sidelined him much of the past three games.
The revamped line might be key to slowing Bosa and Young. The Niners traded a compensatory third-round draft pick to Washington last week for Young in hopes of beefing up their stagnant pass rush.
“It was just shocking, honestly,” said Bosa, who teamed with Young at Ohio State. “We didn’t ever expect to play together. It’s a little weird seeing him walking around this building.”
Young has five sacks in seven games this season and is tied for eighth in the league with 38 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. He won AP Defensive Rookie of the Year with 7 1/2 sacks in 2020, but only played 12 games the past two seasons because of a knee injury.
It was the second significant move in as many years before the trade deadline for the Niners, who landed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey from Carolina in 2022.
“It just seems to always get better and better around here,” Niners All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner said. “Really excited to have him. Heck of a player, got the right mindset. I think that’s what’s even more important. He’s going to help us a lot.”
STREAKING JAGUARS
Jacksonville is the hottest team in the league. The Jaguars have won five in a row, all in different venues in October. They won at Wembley Stadium, at Tottenham Hotspur, at EverBank Stadium, at Caesars Superdome and at Acrisure Stadium before their bye.
Defense has carried the Jaguars of late, with the unit giving up 16.2 points a game during the winning streak. But quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Co. used the week off to fine-tune an offense that needs to reduce turnovers and be more productive in short-yardage situations and in the red zone.
“It would be nice to put all of those together this week against a good team like this,” Lawrence said. "This is the week to do it. You've got to play well against great teams.”
SAMUEL RETURNS
Niners receiver Deebo Samuel is slated to return after missing the better part of the last three games with a shoulder injury. Samuel played just nine snaps against Cleveland on Oct. 15 before leaving for good.
San Francisco hasn't been the same without him, scoring just 17 points in losses to the Browns, Minnesota and Cincinnati. Samuel has 302 yards receiving, 95 yards rushing and two total touchdowns this season.
MOVING DOWN
San Francisco made another notable defensive change during its bye. Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks will move from the booth to the field in hopes of adding a spark to a defense that has dipped since a 5-0 start.
“I think he just wanted to be down there as our leader of the group, just to be down there and make adjustments on the fly when need be,” Warner said. “Just being down there with us, looking us in our eye when he’s down there, and a little benefit to that.”
HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE?
After an odd first half of the season in which Jacksonville played consecutive games in London and consecutive road games before its bye, the Jaguars will play three of their next four at home. This one come with Jacksonville as a three-point home underdog, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The Jaguars are 5-1 as home underdogs under Pederson.
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