Jags, Coen legally steal victory over 49ers 26-21

By Hays Carlyon

Steal the signals.

Steal the show.

Steal the victory.

Jaguars 26, 49ers 21.

That was sweet.

Brilliant first-year Jaguars coach Liam Coen, aka The Scourge of San Francisco, is proving an old football adage.

Once you hire the right coach, historical trends mean nothing.

Sure, the Jaguars had historically struggled on the West Coast. Yes, San Francisco had won the last five meetings in the series. Yes, the Jaguars hadn’t beaten the 49ers in 20 years.

That was before Coen.

Now, all that matters is that Coen has never lost as Jaguars coach on the West Coast.

Once you hire the right coach, toughness forms.

This Jaguars team is a bad call – something the NFL acknowledges – from being 4-0.

They easily could’ve lost last week to Houston. They won.

They easily could’ve lost Sunday on the road to the 49ers. They won.

Not because they got a gift pass interference call on fourth down. No, because they outfought the opponent in the final minutes of the game.

The Jaguars haven’t even gelled yet offensively. That will come, but it is going to take time.

But the toughness of the team has gelled. The leadership of the team has gelled. The belief in Coen that the roster feels has gelled.

The 49ers coaching staff was so spooked by Coen that defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and coach Kyle Shanahan both sent verbal barbs Coen’s way for “legally” stealing signals.

What a disgrace. What cowardice. Saleh and Shanahan should be embarrassed.

They were spooked by Coen’s offensive acumen and it showed.

The Jaguars defense then did more than enough to spook Shanahan’s offense, forcing four turnovers. Linebacker Devin Lloyd continued his torrid start to the season intercepting 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy twice.

This was a total team win. The offense generated a 13-play, 89-yard touchdown drive that took 8:01 off the clock in the second quarter. The unit certainly made mistakes, but that drive to go up 17-3 was gigantic.

The defense allowed the 49ers to convert 61.5 percent on third down (8 of 13) but bent not broke. Four takeaways is an amazing defensive game almost no matter what else happened.

The Jaguars entered Week 4 leading the NFL in takeaways with nine and just added four more. That’s an amazing performance by defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile and company. I mean, he’s no Ryan Neilsen, but who is?

There were multiple special teams gaffes (a missed field goal, bad snaps, poor punts, fielding a kickoff on the sideline and going out of bounds at the 7). However, Parker Washington broke an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown. Bhayshul Tuten broke a 54-yard kick return that led to a field goal at the end of the first half that allowed the Jaguars to take a 17-6 lead into the break.

This is a team. This is a team that can be dangerous.

The Jaguars (3-1) will welcome in Kansas City (2-2) on Monday Night Football. The Chiefs bring their dynasty and a two-game win streak into Jacksonville.

Buckle up. Your beloved Jaguars are about to be THE story in the NFL this week.

Because Shad Khan and Tony Boselli hired the right coach.

(You can email Hays at [email protected] and follow him on X/Twitter @HaysCarlyon).