PHILADELPHIA – Last time here, George Kittle lamented the 49ers’ NFC Championship Game loss with a statement that would essentially define their triumphant 42-19 return Sunday.
“You didn’t really get to see all the 49er football that we wanted to put out there on tape,” Kittle said after January’s 31-7 loss. “But life kind of just punches you in the face sometimes.”
Sunday, the 49ers scored touchdowns on six consecutive possessions to seize control, and, along the way, Dre Greenlaw punched – or at least poked – the face of the Eagles’ security chief in a sideline scrap that merely paused the 49ers’ momentum.
Scoring three of those touchdowns was Deebo Samuel, the 49ers’ most vocal critic of the Eagles after last season’s loss, in which quarterback Brock Purdy sustained a torn elbow ligament that rendered the offense toothless.
“We wanted some payback,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “We tried not to think too much about last year but we knew we could match up with them and more than that, so we proved a good point. Obviously, we might have to do it again against them.”
In winning their fourth straight game, the 49ers (9-3) gained crucial ground in the NFC playoff race. They are one game behind the Eagles (10-2) with five regular-season games remaining. This marked the 49ers’ third road game in four weeks since their bye. Next Sunday, they are home against the Seattle Seahawks (6-6), whom they beat 31-13 in Seattle on Thanksgiving.
Purdy added to this season’s vibrant comeback by outperforming his Eagles counterpart, Jalen Hurts, who was briefly knocked out of the game for a concussion evaluation after a hard hit from Oren Burks, Greenlaw’s replacement. Purdy threw for 314 yards and four touchdowns for a 148.8 passer rating, with no interceptions and only two sacks, neither of which stirred memories of the elbow-injuring hit he sustained six snaps into the NFC Championship Game defeat.
Purdy downplayed a revenge angle, saying: “We needed this game. It was an important game. I didn’t want to get distracted by, ‘I’m going to show everybody what could have been.’ ”
“I had full confidence we’d have this kind of game from the jump,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “We’ve got a quarterback, so that made it easier this time.”
The 49ers’ six straight touchdown drives spanned distances of 85, 90, 75, 77, 75 and 47 yards, against a reeling Eagles defense that played 95 snaps the previous Sunday in a comeback win here over the Buffalo Bills. Bosa said he has never had more confidence in a 49ers offense since his 2019 arrival, and they haven’t done a six-pack spree like that since 1992.
“We play our style of football, and it’s real physical, and that’s what we went out and did,” Samuel said.
All that dominance was temporarily overshadowed by a third-quarter play that cost the 49ers 25 yards — and Greenlaw, who was ejected for a left-hand jab toward Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro. After DeVonta Smith made a 13-yard reception against Ambry Thomas’ soft coverage, Greenlaw suplex-slammed Smith to the ground near the Eagles’ sideline, resulting in the confrontation with DiSandro, who also was ejected (and drew a standing ovation from Eagles fans).
“I tried my hardest not to lose my mind. I just can’t believe someone not involved in a game can taunt our players like that and put their hands in our guys’ face. I was told Dre did it back to him, that he mashed him in the face,” said coach Kyle Shanahan, noting that Eagles counterpart Nick Sirianni “wasn’t a fan on the play, either, and he handled it with total class.”
Five plays later, Hurts scored on a 1-yard run, on the Eagles’ second straight attempt at their signature “Brotherly Shove” quarterback sneak. The 49ers’ lead was cut to 21-13, and Eagles fans were in full throat, including one who slammed his hands against the press box windows that slid open; the fan was not ejected.
Samuel’s second touchdown of the game – a 48-yard catch-and-run – put the 49ers ahead 28-13 with 3:54 until the fourth quarter. It silenced the hometown crowd’s roar from the drama involving Greenlaw’s ejection and Hurts’ touchdown.
After Purdy squeezed in an 18-yard, touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings on third down for a 35-13 lead, the Eagles answered with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Hurts to DeVonta Smith with 5 1/2 minutes to go. The Eagles had won their past four games by overcoming halftime deficits, but the 49ers would not let that streak continue.
Only 14 seconds and two snaps after Smith’s touchdown, Samuel sped past haggard defenders on a 46-yard catch-and-run to complete his touchdown hat trick and push the lead safely up to 23 points.
“He’s the epitome of unselfishness,” Bosa said of Samuel. “He got paid and that comes with pressure to be the guy. When you have so many dudes, you’re not going to get opps very often. I love the fact he can talk, set the stage, walk into a hostile environment and just thrive. That’s greatness.”
Said Samuel: “Just get in space get into the open field and break tackles, that’s what I’m really good at. … I’m not going to lie, I was in the zone.”
Samuel’s first score came on a 12-yard touchdown run to put the 49ers up 21-6 only 3:19 into the second half, a drive that was kept afloat with third-down completions to Jennings (18 yards) and McCaffrey (33 yards). Not to be overlooked in those long completions was Purdy’s protection, including Colton McKivitz shoving Haason Reddick out of the way for Jennings completion.
McCaffrey’s 93 yards (one touchdown) pushed his NFL-leading total to 1,032 yards, making him the first 49ers rusher to cross that 1,000-yard plateau since Frank Gore in 2014.
If too much weight can be placed on a second-quarter touchdown drive, the 49ers merited such attention – twice.
After their first two possessions, the 49ers had minus-6 yards and were down 6-0. Then came the Q2 earnings call as the 49ers marched 85 yards to go ahead 7-6 on a touchdown (Brandon Aiyuk’s 2-yard catch of Purdy’s play-action pass) and then 90 yards for an encore score (McCaffrey’s 2-yard run) to eat up nearly the final 4 ½ minutes of the first half.
Aiyuk’s diving touchdown grab was preceded by other clutch receptions, including third-down conversion catches by Kittle and Samuel. The longest completion came when Kittle initially blocked Reddick, then slipped out for a 32-yard catch-and-run to the 10-yard line. On goal-to-go, Purdy opened with a high-stepping escape to the 4-yard line, and after an incompletion to Kittle and an Eagles offside penalty, Purdy executed a play-action pass for Aiyuk’s fourth straight game with a touchdown catch.
Touchdown drive No. 2 required 10 plays, and no third-down situations, as the 49ers mixed four passes with six runs. Once in the red zone, Samuel ran 14 yards to the 4-yard line following a cavalry of blockers (Kittle, McCaffrey, Jennings). McCaffrey needed two attempts to get across the goal line for a third straight game.
The Eagles rolled up 120 yards on their first two series, but they settled for field goals thanks to the 49ers’ clutch defense in the red zone.
On the opening series, Charvarius Ward made a touchdown-saving pass breakup in the end zone, a feat he has pulled off in four straight games. On the Eagles’ second drive, the Eagles reached the 14-yard line before Hurts crumbled in the pocket and Javon Kinlaw was credited with a sack.
“It was only 6-0, we were able to weather the storm and get our rhythm back,” Shanahan said.
Added Purdy: “No one was freaking out. We needed to envision positive plays and have momentum created off that. I needed a completion to get the ball rolling, and we did that. Kyle called plays to get the ball out of my hands quick to get a rhythm, and we did that.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com