What a rear end kicking that was. The 49ers went into Philadelphia and throttled the No. 1 seed Eagles 42-19 at Lincoln Financial Field.
San Francisco got off to a very slow start and fell behind 6-0, but from there went on a 42-13 run to secure a blowout victory and pull within a game of the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Here are our observations from each quarter of Sunday’s game:
First quarter
– Whew! Huge hit on the first play of the game by Charvarius Ward and Fred Warner to force on incompletion on a throw to RB D’Andre Swift. The pass protection from the Eagles on that play was outstanding though. San Francisco rushed four and couldn’t get much pressure. Good work in coverage by the secondary to force a check down.
– Yikes. On a third-and-long the 49ers give up a 38-yard catch-and-run to WR AJ Brown. Looked like some poor angles from the initial tacklers.
– Isaiah Oliver was playing the strong safety spot alongside Ji’Ayir Brown on a second-and-8. That’s an interesting wrinkle.
– Tackling has been awful by the 49ers on their first series.
– Arik Armstead has gotten a couple early pressures.
– Outstanding coverage by Charvarius Ward on a third-and-7 shot to the end zone in the red zone. He got physical with Brown and knocked it away to force a short field goal. It’s 3-0, Eagles.
– Deebo Samuel is back to return the kick after the TD with Ray-Ray McCloud out. That’s new. Apparently San Francisco didn’t want rookie WR Ronnie Bell in that spot.
– Brock Purdy’s first throw of the game is tipped at the line. Uh oh.
– Now Purdy takes a sack on second down. He had time, he just didn’t throw it. What a mess to start the game for the 49ers offense.
– On third down Purdy’s throw was high and would’ve been short of the sticks. Absolute disaster for San Francisco out of the gate.
– Good pressure by the 49ers on a blitz, but they lost contain and let QB Jalen Hurts break outside for seven yards. They can’t let that happen again and they’re lucky it didn’t turn into a huge play.
– Another big gain for Brown on a slant. This time it’s 17 yards on a third-and-3. Ward is losing that battle badly.
– The 49ers can’t get off the field on third down. Third-and-5 and Hurts hits WR Devonta Smith for six yards. Hurts took a big shot on a blitz, but he still got the ball out just before Chase Young got home.
– Now another first down to Smith despite perfect coverage by Deommodore Lenoir. One of those games for the 49ers.
– Credit Javon Kinlaw with a sack on a play where Hurts held the ball forever and climbed backwards. Good work in the secondary to force him to hold onto it. Kinlaw just happened to be the closest player when Hurts fell down. His first sack since 2020. That makes it third-and-21.
– Good stop in the red zone again for the 49ers to hold the Eagles to another field goal. That makes it 6-0, Philadelphia.
– A run to Deebo Samuel goes backward four yards. Negative-six yards for the 49ers on their first four plays.
– Another three-and-out. This is embarrassing for the 49ers.
– Good tackle by Tashaun Gipson on a toss to Swift.
End of first quarter: Eagles 6, 49ers 0
Second quarter
– Nice work on a third-and-11 to open the second quarter by the 49ers defense. Good coverage forced Hurts to take off and they bottled him up for just four yards on the scramble.
– Rookie WR Ronnie Bell is the punt returner. He held onto the kick and didn’t fumble when he immediately got hit. That’s a success.
– A toss to RB Christian McCaffrey loses a yard on first down. This is comical.
– Now a false start on RG Spencer Burford. That’ll make it second-and-forever.
– A completion! Purdy hits WR Brandon Aiyuk for 12 yards to bring up a third-and-3. Prior to that Purdy was 0-for-4.
– Now a first down! TE George Kittle makes a catch for four yards. Good job by Purdy to buy some time and make a throw.
– Another run to McCaffrey goes nowhere. This one was on a second-and-1.
– Good throw from Purdy to Samuel for 13 on a third-and-1. Purdy has settled in nicely and they’re going to need him to have a good game because the run game is not there.
– There’s a good run for McCaffrey! He found 10 yards behind an excellent combo block from Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk.
– Kittle again is all alone in the right flat and rumbles ahead for 32 yards. Now the 49ers are rolling. Good job by Kyle Shanahan to create some easy completions for his struggling QB.
– Nice run by Purdy on a scramble on first-and-goal from the 10. He found six yards and broke a couple tackles. That’s gotta feel good for him to do in Philadelphia where he got hurt last season.
– Bang. Purdy hits Aiyuk for a touchdown after an offsides on the Eagles gave them another crack at third-and-goal. Good play call on a fake toss to Samuel. Purdy’s throw wasn’t great, but Aiyuk made a sensational diving grab to give the 49ers a score. Jake Moody’s extra point made it 7-6, 49ers. San Francisco’s defense needed that.
– Now the 49ers defense opens with a sack. Armstead got there first thanks to terrific coverage downfield, and he’s having a terrific game.
– Philly tried a screen and the 49ers ate it up entirely. Hurts had to throw it away. A long rest appears to have helped them.
– Unbelievable. WR screen to Smith goes for 21 yards on third-and-19 because the 49ers can’t tackle. That’s a potential game-swinging play.
– Tremendous coverage by CB Ambry Thomas to notch a pass breakup on a deep shot to WR Quez Watkins. He got his head around which helped him not catch a pass interference flag.
– Third-and-8, Randy Gregory and Armstead provide pressure that forces Hurts to roll left where he threw it away. The 49ers defensive line has done just enough thanks to excellent secondary play.
– There’s been a ton of McCaffrey in the slot with orbit motion from Samuel.
– Touchdown for McCaffrey. That drive was sick. 10 plays and 90 yards to eat 3:59 and make it a 14-6 game with 38 seconds left in the half. That was a good combination of run and pass with some easy throws for Purdy and good after-the-catch work from Kittle and Samuel. The 49ers pushed Philly around on that series.
– Hurts’ first throw after the touchdown was tipped way in the air and fell just short of Deommodore Lenoir who might have had a pick-six if he grabbed it.
End of second quarter: 49ers 14, Eagles 6
Third quarter
– First play of the second half if is a five-yard run for McCaffrey off the left side. He was in the backfield with Samuel on that play. It looks like the Samuel backfield stuff is wreaking havoc on the Eagles in the second level.
– Yikes. Near interception for Purdy. That was close. He’s lucky Aiyuk got a hand on it so the safety couldn’t corral it.
– Jauan Jennings gets 18 on a third-and-5. That’s a big-time play for the 49ers’ third WR.
– Now another third-and-short turns into a 33-yard gain on a throw to McCaffrey down the sideline. That was a dot from Purdy.
– Now in the red zone the 49ers go to Samuel on the ground and he finds the end zone. Eagles DE Haason Reddick bit hard on a fake to McCaffrey and that gave Samuel room to find the corner where Kittle threw a big block to spring him. Another methodical drive by the 49ers to open the third quarter and the Eagles defense is on its heels. Seven plays, 75 yards and a 21-6 lead for San Francisco.
– Horrible play by Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles to get called for a facemask on the kickoff. That’s a free 15 yards that gives the Eagles life. That’s a dreadful time for a mistake from a 49ers special teams ace. Philadelphia now starts at its own 42.
– Javon Hargrave got lucky. He shoved Hurts late out of bounds and didn’t get flagged.
– The 49ers did everything right on a third-and-7 but Hurts found Brown for a first down. Looked like Thomas lost him in coverage. Good work by Hurts to find a WR on the scramble.
– There’s a flag. Dre Greenlaw gets hit with an unnecessary roughness call for slamming Smith down way after the whistle. The 49ers were asking for that.
– Now Greenlaw is ejected for hitting an Eagles personnel person on the sideline. Just an abominable play for him that gives Philadelphia a ton of momentum.
– First play after the hullabaloo is a designed run for Hurts that gets stuffed for a loss of one by Nick Bosa. Really well played by the DE.
– More good coverage from Ward on Brown in the end zone. He’s doing well to get his head around to avoid a flag.
– Third-and-11, the Eagles get 12. Story of this game. The 49ers couldn’t tackle Brown again. It’s first-and-goal at the 2 which means a tush push is on deck.
– There’s the touchdown. It’s 21-13, 49ers.
– Purdy gets sacked on first down to open the ensuing drive. Wheels are wobbly for the 49ers. They need to get the ship righted with a long drive and a sack is not the way to get that started.
– What a throw from Purdy on a deep out to Aiyuk. The OL did an outstanding job to give the route time to develop and the QB delivered a perfect ball for a first down on third-and-7.
– DEE.BO. 28-13, 49ers.
Smell ya later! @19problemz#SFvsPHI on FOX#ProBowlVote 🗳 https://t.co/bosbZYCB7K pic.twitter.com/3gaBIobzUB
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 3, 2023
– Nasty spin move from Bosa to beat RT Lane Johnson for a pressure and to force a throwaway.
– Excellent work by the 49ers defense to bottle up Hurts on a third-down scramble. Fred Warner wrapped him up and Oren Burks finished the play off to force a punt.
– Bell dropped the punt, but it rolled out of bounds. That was very lucky for the 49ers. Any turnover could swing this game.
– Two runs for McCaffrey to the left turn into a first down. This 49ers offense is chugging right now.
End of third quarter: 49ers 28, Eagles 13
Fourth quarter
– Wow the fourth quarter opened with the TV broadcast showing Hurts going to the locker room. He went to the medical tent after that hit from Warner and Burks.
– Fourth-and-1 the 49ers go and they get behind Trent Williams with McCaffrey for a couple yards and a first down. Good, gutsy call from Shanahan.
– Elijah Mitchell’s first carry goes for 12 and a first down. This is domination on the ground by the 49ers.
– Purdy did a really good job escaping a blitz to find McCaffrey on the sideline for a short gain instead of taking a sack.
– Tuddy. The 49ers picked up a blitz, Jennings got open and he broke one tackle to race to the end zone. That’s Purdy’s third TD pass of the game and this one might be over. It’s 35-13, 49ers with Hurts being evaluated for a concussion.
– Marcus Mariota is in the game for the Eagles.
– The fourth down tush push still works with Mariota. He got the first down by about an inch.
– Good news for Hurts. He’s out of concussion protocol and back in the game to take over at midfield with 8:42 left.
– Philly is rolling now. This is still dangerous for the 49ers. They’re in the red zone with 7:00 left.
– Pass interference on Lenoir gives Philadelphia a first-and-goal at the 2. Thomas nearly came up with a pick-six on the first-down throw to Brown. He’s been pretty good in a huge spot.
– Now Lenoir gets beat by Smith for a touchdown. What an rough series for the 49ers’ nickel corner.
– Nice play by Warner to break up the two-point try. That keeps it at 35-19, 49ers with 5:33 left.
– McCaffrey grabs the onside kick. Any points here would make this a three-score game and essentially ice this one.
– DEEBO AGAIN! 46 yards on a screen to give the 49ers a 40 burger in Philadelphia. It’s 42-19, 49ers and it’s clear the Eagles have quit with 5:13 to go.
– Woof. Rookie LB Dee Winters is in the game for the 49ers and he badly whiffed an open field tackle on RB Kenneth Gainwell.
– The Eagles’ passing game is Hurts scrambling, trying to direct on the fly and hoping a player gets open. It’s working on this final drive, but it’s clear the 49ers are just trying to keep the clock running.
– Sheesh. Exclamation point from Lenoir who wallops Swift to force an incompletion.
– Kalia Davis sack in his NFL debut! That’s fun.
– Fourth-and-12 for the Eagles and Hurts takes a shot to Smith who was blanketed by Thomas. That’s going to end it.
Final score: 49ers 42, Eagles 19
