Jaguars recovered a critical fumble, but the 49ers kept the ball. Why?

The Jacksonville Jaguars appeared to recover a crucial fumble in the fourth quarter to deny the San Francisco 49ers a scoring opportunity. Instead, the officials ruled that running back Matt Breida’s forward progress was stopped and a whistle to rule him down meant the play could not be reviewed.

You be the judge:

An important distinction is that officials did not rule that Breida was down, but that the whistle blew because his forward progress stopped. Had it been the former, it could’ve been reviewed, and the Jaguars would’ve been awarded the ball via a clear recovery by Dante Fowler Jr.

Instead, the quick whistle for Breida’s lack of forward progress kept the ball in the hands of the 49ers, who capped the drive with a touchdown to take a 30-19 lead in the fourth quarter.