The San Francisco 49ers have struggled to find explosive plays this season. Brock Purdy found Demarcus Robinson, who beat Quinyon Mitchell of all people, for a 61-yard catch and run. Two plays later, Purdy lofted a pass into the hands of Christian McCaffrey for an 11-yard gain.
The drive ended how it began, with a reception by Robinson, who beat Mitchell once more for a touchdown to give the 49ers an early 7-0 lead.
The Eagles took advantage of Deommodore Lenoir’s overaggressiveness right away. Lenoir jumped inside, allowing Saquon Barkley to rush untouched down the sideline for 29 yards. Lenoir then gave up a first-down reception to A.J. Brown. On 3rd & 3, Barkley looked to be stopped initially, but managed to pick up a first down.
The Eagles had converted a league-high 70 percent of their red zone trips into touchdowns. Garret Wallow and Ji’Ayir Brown were unblocked on two separate plays, but couldn’t tackle Barkley. A jet sweep to Dallas Goedert brought the Eagles within one, but Jake Elliott’s missed extra point meant the 49ers still had a 7-6 lead.
The 49ers isolated Kittle on Mitchell on their second drive, but Mitchell won this battle. Purdy was late on a third-down throw to Robinson, after it appeared he was impacted by some pressure after Trent Williams got beaten, and the Niners went three-and-out. Thomas Morstead’s punt only went 35 yards.
Worry set in, under the impression that the defense wouldn’t be able to get many stops. Eric Kendricks came up with one on first down. Garret Wallow had one on second down. But Lenoir was beaten once again on third down, giving the Eagles another first down. Lenoir got his wish to travel with the wide receivers. He followed A.J. Brown, but Brown won once again for eight yards.
Sam Okuayinonu made a stop on 3rd & 2. The 49ers have been excellent all season in short-yardage situations. But they were going against a team that uses all four downs. The Eagles were 0 for seven on their previous fourth-down attempts. Upton Stout undercut DeVonta Smith’s route, making Philly 0-for-8.
The 49ers had prime field position, but couldn’t muster anything. Jauan Jennings didn’t stand a chance against Cooper DeJean, and nobody could get open on a third-down scramble by Purdy, leading to a quick three-and-out. Jennings’ second down target was technically a drop.
Letting the Eagles off the hook after a turnover in that spot was always going to come back to bite the Niners. It was just a matter of when.
Morstead’s punt pinned the Eagles at the six-yard line. That did not matter, as the Eagles gained 7, 7, 9, and 5 yards to begin the drive. After a first down incompletion and a Ji’Ayir Brown tackle near the line of scrimmage, the 49ers forced a 3rd & 10. A false start made it 3rd-and-15.
No pressure allowed DeVonta Smith to gain 14 yards, and we knew what was next. Jalen Hurts tush-pushed his way for a first down—another backbreaker. Barkley gained 20 on a screen. Tank Bigsby ran into the red zone and eventually down to the 10-yard line.
The front-7 couldn’t do anything to stop the Eagles’ running game, which averaged nearly six yards per carry and had almost 100 yards midway through the second quarter. A Kendricks tackle for loss forced a 3rd & 5. On 4th & 2, Malik Mustapha was beaten in coverage for a touchdown. There was a flag picked up, and the Eagles took a 13-7 lead.
Ji’Ayir Brown limped off the field and was questionable to return with a hamstring injury.
The 49ers lost George Kittle to an apparent Achilles injury on the first play of their next drive. Jauan Jennings answered with a 45-yard reception. McCaffrey slipped on 3rd & 1, and Shanahan elected for points. Eddy Pineiro’s field goal was good, bringing the score to 13-10.
The 49ers’ defense needed to come up with a stop. Rookie Marques Sigle made a tackle on first down, then was able to sprint back and help Lenoir break up a deep pass, finally, on third and long. Renardo Green forced an incompletion against A.J. Brown to force a punt.
After being sacked, Robinson beat Adoree Jackson on a comeback route for a first down. Not only did that allow the 49ers to continue to possess the ball and keep it away from the Eagles, but it also gave them an opportunity to kick a field goal.
Unfortunately, Pinerio wouldn’t get that chance. Malik Turner and Kendrick Bourne couldn’t get lined up pre-snap, forcing the offense to burn its final timeout. Shanahan called a creative play before the half, but Purdy fumbled, and that ran the clock to 0.
At the half, Purdy had a passing success rate of 47 percent, compared to 50 percent from Hurts. However, Purdy had a higher EPA per dropback at .42 than Hurts at .22. The defense against a turnover was the difference in the first half, not to mention not scoring at the end of it.
The 49ers’ defense forced a three-and-out. But Skyy Moore did not do them any favors after fielding a punt at the five-yard line. The offense got a little help after Jauan Jennings drew a personal foul. Robinson beat Jackson once more for a 14-yard gain. He was the only reliable wideout and still continued to come through.
But Purdy’s next attempt would be costly. He was late when targeting Skyy Moore, who was being defended by Quinyon Mitchell. The pass was a floater, and Mitchell easily intercepted the pass, stalling a 49ers game-tying drive.
A holding call put the Eagles behind the sticks. On 3rd & 19, the defense got off the field. That was the third three-and-out in a row the 49ers forced. Not allowing points off a turnover was huge in that spot by the defense.
The offense couldn’t muster anything on its next drive. McCaffrey ran for one yard, then a third-down attempt by McCaffrey was high, forcing a punt. Morstead’s 25-yard punt gave the Eagles the ball around midfield.
CJ West kicked off the drive with a tackle for loss. Kendricks had another tackle for loss. Sigle made an impressive open-field tackle, but the Eagles continued to convert on third downs. Bryce Huff made the third tackle for loss on the drive. The 49ers forced a field goal attempt from 41 yards out. This time, Jake Elliott’s kick was good to make it 16-10.
Kyle Juszczyk was wide open to begin the next drive. He did more damage after the catch before finally being tackled after 27 yards. Heading into the 4th quarter, the 49ers were knocking on the door of the red zone.
The 49ers had the wind at their backs in the fourth quarter. Shanahan called a trick play where Jauan Jennings threw it to Christian McCaffrey. The play did not disappoint:
Per Next Gen Stats, that was the deepest touchdown reception by air yards of McCaffrey’s career.
The defense did its part on the ensuing drive by forcing a punt. Keion White won on third down. The offense still needed to find a way to add points.
Juszczyk kicked things off with a first-down reception. But Purdy’s pass to Jake Tonges was late once more. The ball floated, and Mitchell had another interception. It was an inopportune time for a bad decision.
The first penalty of the game for the 49ers didn’t come at a good time, either. Marques Sigle was flagged for a late hit while Hurts was sliding, putting the ball into field goal range. Elliott’s 33-yard attempt split the uprights to give the Eagles a 19-17 lead.
Robinson went over 100 yards with his next reception to put the 49ers in Eagles territory. It was a gain of 16 yards. Shanahan called one of his timely screens, and McCaffrey picked up another chunk play. Tonges drew a holding penalty, negating a Purdy sack to give the offense a first down.
Juszczyk made a fantastic catch on a throw that was behind him. Jennings had an opportunity to catch a touchdown on 2nd & goal, but couldn’t haul in the pass. On 3rd & goal, Purdy bought time before finding McCaffrey in the end zone to give the Niners a 23-19 lead after Pineiro missed the point after attempt.
On 3rd & 5, Brown had a couple of steps on Lenoir, but he could not hold onto the ball. The Eagles went for it on 4th & 5 and converted after Goedert beat Mustapha. DeVonta Smith had a pair of first-down receptions to put the Eagles on the brink of the red zone. But Smith dropped a 3rd & 11, which meant the game would come down to a 4th & 11.
Eric Kendricks got into the throwing lane to nearly intercept the pass. It was a remarkable game with plenty of ebbs and flows, but the 49ers prevailed.
The 49ers ended up outgaining the Eagles, who only went 5-for-16 on third downs. Props to Robert Saleh and the defense for holding the Eagles to 19 points and turning them over twice. Brock Purdy turned it over twice but drove the offense for the game-winning drive.
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