Getty 49ers rookie WR Brandon Aiyuk hurdled Marcus Epps at the end of a 38-yard TD run.
It happened in the blink of an eye and, unfortunately, it wasn’t the first time for Marcus Epps.
The Eagles’ second-year safety was the last line of defense against a charging Brandon Aiyuk. The 49ers rookie jumped “over the moon” — literally hurdling over Epps — to score on a 38-yard touchdown at the end of the first quarter. The highlight-reel play cut the Eagles lead to 8-7 in an interesting first half chock full of injuries, miscues, and punts. The Eagles got their touchdown on an 11-yard touchdown scamper from Carson Wentz who hit Zach Ertz for the two-point conversion.
Back to Aiyuk’s epic hurdle jump for a minute. It wasn’t all Epps’ fault as the Arizona State product found daylight off the line of scrimmage and ran by a blocked Nickell Robey-Coleman and a hobbled Darius Slay, with no linebackers (Nate Gerry anyone?) anywhere in sight. The fact that it was Aiyuk making the acrobatic move irked Eagles fans extra hard because he was a guy thought to be high on their draft radar. Instead, the Eagles selected TCU’s Jalen Reagor four picks ahead of him.
Meanwhile, Epps had been victimized a year ago by another rookie receiver the Eagles passed on in the draft: D.K. Metcalf of Seattle. He actually was in the wrong position twice in their wild-card playoff loss to the Seahawks. The first time was on a 36-yard completion to midfield …
And the second one was when Metcalf lit him up on a vicious block some 40 yards down the field …
D.K. Metcalf BURIED Marcus Epps on this block 40 yards down the field #SEAvsPHI
Metcalf caught seven passes for 160 yards and a touchdown in that Eagles-Seahawks game and set both a franchise record for receiving yards in a playoff game, as well as the NFL playoff record for any rookie. The Eagles selected Stanford’s J.J. Arcega-Whiteside seven picks after Metcalf in last year’s draft. Arcega-Whiteside was absent from Sunday night’s game due to a calf injury.
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