Eric Kendricks hasn’t even been on the 49ers roster for two months, but he has already secured a place in franchise folklore with his telling contribution to one of the most memorable playoff wins of the Kyle Shanahan era on Sunday.
Kendricks, starting alongside Garret Wallow at linebacker as the 49ers deal with an astonishing injury crisis at that position, demonstrated the value of his significant experience as he made the crucial pass breakup on fourth-and-11 to ice the 23-19 upset win for the 49ers over the Philadelphia Eagles in their wild-card contest.
It was a play that came as a result of excellent awareness on the part of Kendricks, who dropped into coverage after showing pressure — he and Wallow lined up in the A gaps in a double mug look — and astutely read the backfield action in front of him to fall back into the throwing lane and deflect Hurts’ attempted throw to Dallas Goedert over the middle of the field.
Given the context of the 49ers being clear underdogs on the road amid an injury situation that worsened mid-game when George Kittle was lost to a torn Achilles, Kendricks game-sealing play is likely to be remembered and celebrated for a long time regardless of when this remarkable 49ers campaign draws to a close. Speaking afterwards, Kendricks dissected the play while expressing regret about one element.
He told a press conference:
“To be honest with you, especially when the game’s in the line, I’m thinking that they were gonna try to get the ball in either of the three playmakers’ hands. Obviously Goedert was one of the people I thought about because he was on the hash. But I originally thought, Saquon [Barkley], A.J. [Brown], and as soon as I started dropping, we were in the A gap, as soon as I started dropping and I saw Saquan kind of go across to protect, I knew I had to get to the other hash kind of quick. I wish I would have picked it off. I should have picked it off. I usually do that, but I was happy I was able to make the play and get from hash to hash on that one.”
While Kendricks wasn’t able to pick the pass off, his play was one that an injured 49ers All-Pro linebacker, Fred Warner, would have been proud of, as it blended excellent instincts with the athleticism required to quickly get to the opposite hash. And for Shanahan, Kendricks being ready for the moment was no surprise.
Said Shanahan:
“I thought Eric was just as expected. I’ve gone against Eric so much in my life and I remember saying at the beginning of the week on Wednesday and to the whole team, I was like, ‘Guys, I don’t really know Eric that well, but I’ve been going against him on the silent team forever and that’s why I feel like I do know him and from going against him, I promise you guys, this guy’s going to be ready.’ That was the vibe we’ve always had playing against him our whole career and that’s how he handled this whole week. And he looks kind of like what I’ve seen going against him my whole career. He looked like that tonight. Just how he drops in the hooks. I think he’s always a problem for quarterbacks. It looked like he knocked that ball down at the end. And then Garret, too. Garret was huge. I haven’t gone against Garret very much, but since he got here and played on teams to start, he hopped in at linebacker last week. I don’t think they just stepped up and got through the game. I think they played at a high level.”
With Warner not expected to make an incredible return from his ankle injury next week against the Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers will need Kendricks and Wallow to be at their best to prevail on the road again versus an offense that has been much more effective than that of the Eagles.
The odds are against them, but after his heroics in Philadelphia, the 49ers can afford to have even more confidence in Kendricks and Wallow’s ability to rise to the considerable challenge.
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