PHILADELPHIA — This is how the 2023 season could eventually end for the Philadelphia Eagles. Lincoln Financial Field is empty. It’s been cleared out and quieted by the consistent shelling of the San Francisco 49ers, another potential playoff team that bombarded vulnerabilities that have long been cracking, that have long been awaiting a properly equipped opponent that could lay it to waste.
Advertisement
There’s the scoreboard: 49ers 42, Eagles 19. It’s the team’s largest regular-season loss since the Dallas Cowboys embarrassed the Eagles 51-26 in the 2021 finale, a trouncing that preceded Philadelphia’s one-and-done exit in the NFC wild-card round against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sunday’s loss foreshadowed how the Eagles’ playoff run this season could also end abruptly.
There’s Brock Purdy, exiting the tunnel as the third quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns against Philadelphia this season. It’s an Eagles defense that finally failed to mask its shortcomings in the secondary. Even a dominant defensive front, equipped with Haason Reddick, who sacked Purdy to help force a three-and-out on the 49ers’ first drive and then hurried Purdy to complete a consecutive three-and-out, couldn’t compensate for a linebacker corps and back end whose missed tackles and blown assignments aided the 49ers, who averaged 5.2 yards per carry and 11.6 yards per pass attempt while scoring a touchdown on six straight possessions.
“They just whooped our ass,” cornerback James Bradberry said.
GO DEEPER
NFL playoff picture: Can 49ers surge past Eagles to snag No. 1 seed in NFC?
Sunday’s beatdown solidified legitimate doubts about whether the Eagles’ defense can sustainably stop the high-powered offenses it’s bound to face in the deep postseason run the 10-2 franchise is expecting. It’s been nearly three months since starting nickel cornerback Avonte Maddox tore his pectoral muscle against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2. First-year defensive coordinator Sean Desai discovered a way to schematically support his lack of slot defenders when cornerback Darius Slay started shadowing the opponent’s No. 1 receiver against the Cowboys.
But there were still foreboding signs that the adjustment had its limitations. Kansas City Chiefs wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who burned Bradley Roby downfield, could’ve downed the Eagles on the deep ball had he not dropped the surefire touchdown. Buffalo Bills running back James Cook also dropped a probable touchdown after gaining several steps on linebacker Nicholas Morrow last week. What was going to happen once an opponent possessed a wealth of proficient pass catchers?
Advertisement
The 49ers supplied a resounding answer that will send Desai reeling for more solutions.
The Eagles had Slay shadow 49ers wideout Brandon Aiyuk for the majority of the game. Even this did not work in critical situations. But San Francisco exploited the game plan’s matchup weaknesses when its offense began its streak of scores by converting on all three third-down attempts on its third drive. Purdy struck tight end George Kittle on a short out against Roby on a third-and-3 situation. Then he hit Deebo Samuel, who outmaneuvered Morrow in the middle of the field, for a 13-yard gain on a third-and-1 conversion. Safety Reed Blankenship then appeared to get sucked in by a play-action fake on third-and-goal, and Aiyuk snuck past and secured a wide-open, 2-yard score to give the 49ers a 7-6 lead with 7:10 left in the second quarter.
Brandon Aiyuk's diving catch is the first TD of the game!
📺: #SFvsPHI on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/xvCjbLUIcN pic.twitter.com/jDx7nOulUV
— NFL (@NFL) December 3, 2023
Purdy frequently targeted Morrow. To begin the second half, on third-and-3, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey shook free from Morrow along the left sideline and caught a 33-yard reception that reached the Eagles’ 12. The 49ers then deployed a tricky end around in which Samuel outran Reddick, Morrow and two other Eagles defenders for a 12-yard score to go up 21-6 with 11:48 left in the third quarter.
The touchdown by Samuel exacerbated the run defense issues that were worsened by the absence of starting linebacker Zach Cunningham, who sustained a hamstring injury against the Bills last week. McCaffrey and Samuel combined for 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns at 5.8 yards per carry. It’s further troubling for a defense that entered the weekend allowing the NFL’s third-fewest rushing yards per game (85.3). It also further justifies general manager Howie Roseman’s pursuit of free-agent linebacker Shaquille Leonard, who could bolster a corps whose blunders included Samuel breaking free of a Morrow tackle on the way to a 48-yard touchdown reception.
DEEBO BREAKS A TACKLE AND GOES ALL THE WAY
📺: #SFvsPHI on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/xvCjbLUIcN pic.twitter.com/4oGKuQ5DMD
— NFL (@NFL) December 3, 2023
The Eagles entered the weekend having only surrendered one touchdown of over 30 yards. Samuel, who later scored on a 46-yard catch-and-run, had two in one evening. The Eagles became incapable of supplying the stops that fueled past comebacks, even when they arrived at the matchups they favored. Before Samuel’s 48-yard touchdown in the third quarter, the Eagles trailed 21-13. On a third-and-7, two plays after a Fletcher Cox sack, Purdy completed a 10-yard pass to Aiyuk with Slay in coverage. Aiyuk caught four passes against Slay for 44 yards. The 49ers converted 8 of 11 of their third-down opportunities.
Advertisement
“Frustration. Anger. It’s not good enough,” said linebacker Christian Elliss, who started in Cunningham’s place. “That’s just the bottom line.”
The 49ers stretched the Eagles’ lack of depth in the secondary until it snapped. Eli Ricks, an undrafted free agent whose struggles against the Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb necessitated Roby’s return from a shoulder injury, surrendered two late receptions to Jauan Jennings, including an 18-yard touchdown that built an insurmountable 35-13 lead with 10:50 left in the fourth quarter.
Jauan Jennings makes a move and scores!
📺: #SFvsPHI on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/xvCjbLUIcN pic.twitter.com/KZpz2q1hCM
— NFL (@NFL) December 3, 2023
The defensive disaster eliminated any hope of yet a fifth consecutive comeback from quarterback Jalen Hurts, who returned from a second-half scare in the concussion protocol. He completed 26 of 45 passes for 298 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles’ offense still managed just six points in yet another first-half slump, which doesn’t project much promise when paired with a vulnerable defense that must face a hot Cowboys offense in next week’s rematch in Arlington, Texas.
A series of second-half heroics from Hurts helped bury defensive issues that are quite capable of rearing their heads again. It’s partly why Hurts felt so conflicted last week when addressing reporters after Philadelphia’s two-score comeback win over Buffalo. Perhaps a blatant loss such as Sunday’s brings clarity and urgency to the problem that must quickly be solved. Hurts said “it’s not a matter of winning or losing,” only about “playing to the standard.” He doesn’t believe, even in their wins, they’ve played to their potential this season.
“I think this is a moment where you go back and reflect on it,” Hurts said. “You learn from it. Like every win. You treat them all the same. You win or you lose. It’s about what can I learn from this. The process remains the same in terms of how we respond and how we approach it. We just have to be self-critical, as we always are, and analyze everything as it’s supposed to be and respond.”
(Photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lGpncnBhZXxzfJFsZmpqX2WBcLHAoKOeq12hvLS%2FjJ2cn52eqLJugJieqaxn