Friday Fact or Fiction – San Francisco 49ers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Oct 25, 2013; London, United Kingdom, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) stretches at practice at Allianz Park Stadium in advance of the NFL International Series game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Jacksonville Jaguars have an uphill climb this Saturday when they host the San Francisco 49ers in London. Coming off a deplorable performance at home against the San Diego Chargers, the Jaguars have to give a significantly better effort if they want to prevent a blowout. The 49ers have reeled off 4 straight impressive victories and should be able to impose their will on the Jaguars.

The best hope for the Jaguars is to get the offense going early by getting the ball in the hands of Justin Blackmon and Cecil Shorts. The Jacksonville offense has struggled to establish a running game this season and the physical 49ers defense won’t make it any easier.

With all those things in mind, take solace in these sure-to-be-wrong predictions:

Colin Kaepernick will have a passing touchdown: FICTION

The Jacksonville Jaguars have given up 15 touchdowns through the air, tied for the most in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills. Fortunately, they’re facing a quarterback who has had his struggles in the passing game this season. After his terrific performance in week 1, Kaepernick has thrown 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions with a 53% completion percentage. The young Jaguars secondary has a chance to take a big step forward this week if they can contain Kaepernick.

Chad Henne will throw a touchdown: FACT

Chad Henne has only thrown for 2 touchdowns in 6 appearances this season. Unlike Kaepernick however, Henne has some talented players at the receiver position to bail him out. Henne will be targeting Shorts and Blackmon a lot throughout the game, so expect one of them to break a big gain for a touchdown.

Denard Robinson will get more than one carry: FACT

Denard Robinson has had some growing pains so far this season while transitioning to a new position. The Jaguars haven’t really integrated him into the offense yet but he showed his potential last week on his lone carry. The Jaguars have a lot of mouths to feed at the running back position, but they will find more snaps for Robinson as the season goes along.

The San Francisco 49ers need to screw things up royally to even keep this game competitive, but it should be a fun watch if the Jaguars can generate some offense.

Prediction:   49ers 38 – Jaguars 21

– Daniel Lago

Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89