One of the best moments during the San Francisco 49ers game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Sunday, September 28 came between Jaguars defensive lineman Arik Armstead and 49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek.
While Jaguars coach Liam Coen and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh were fighting elsewhere on the field after the Jaguars beat the 49ers 26-21, Armstead and Kocurek were sharing a meaningful embrace.
Initially, it just looked like a nice moment between a coach and player who used to work together, but as it turned out, the moment had added significance.
Before the game, Armstead wore a shirt that said “Amy Strong” with a graphic featuring Kocurek’s wife. Amy Kocurek has been battling breast cancer.
“Amy’s shown so much strength in her fight against cancer,” Amstead said about the shirt. Coach Kocurek has been a big part of my NFL journey, and this shirt is a way of standing with them, sending love, and showing support to them both.”
Kocurek was Armstead’s position coach from 2019-2023 with the 49ers. He won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2024, so awesome gestures like this are just par for the course for a great guy like Armstead.
How did Armstead Play?
In his return to Levi’s Stadium for the first time since leaving San Francisco for Jacksonville in 2024, Armstead was a key reason why the Jaguars won.
He had only 2 tackles and 1 sack, but also forced Brock Purdy to fumble on a strip sack play with less than 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for Jacksonville.
Armstead has taken on a bigger role with Jacksonville this season, starting each of their first four games. He played in all 17 games for Jacksonville last season, but started only 1.
In two years with Jacksonville so far (21 games), Armstead has 35 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 3 pass breakups and 1 forced fumble.
In 9 seasons with the 49ers (2015-23), Armstead had 302 tackles, 43 tackles for loss, 33.5 sacks, 6 pass breakups and 3 forced fumbles.
49ers Could Have Used Armstead Sunday
In their first full game without superstar EDGE rusher Nick Bosa, who tore his right ACL in their Week 3 game against the Arizona Cardinals, the 49ers recorded 0 sacks and 0 QB hits. That was the first time that had happened for the 49ers since 2015.
The 49ers have a lot of young and unproven players on their defensive line, and without Bosa wreaking havoc, there is no go-to player in that unit.
They probably wish they had Armstead’s leadership and experience.
The Jaguars are very glad they have Armstead – he recorded their only sack on Sunday and it was one of the biggest plays of the game.
The Jaguars did record 3 additional QB hits however, getting more consistent pressure on Brock Purdy than the 49ers were getting on Trevor Lawrence. Josh Hines-Allen, Dawuane Smoot, and Emmanuel Ogbah each recorded a QB hit.
At least the 49ers got to reunite with Arik Armstead off the field, in likely a moment that Kocurek will never forget.
49ers fans, how do you think the Niners can improve their defensive line performance?
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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