There will be no repeat for the Philadelphia Eagles because once again they trotted out an offense that looked the same in game 18 as they did in game one. Sunday’s stunning home loss to the San Francisco 49ers 23-19 was a microcosm of the season, missed opportunities, untimely and undisciplined penalties, questionable play calling, questionable effort, sideline blowups, dropped balls and overall dysfunction.
GAME RECAP
Eagles (11-7. 6-4 Home) 19, 49ers (13-5, 8-2) 23
MVP: Christian McCaffrey 15 carries, 48 yds. 6 receptions, 66 yds, 2 tds
Betting Winners: 49ers +5.5, Under 44.5
Next Up For Philadelphia: Next Season
Same Old Eagles
The Eagles did score two touchdowns in the first half but also saw two drives stall while being well ahead of the sticks, one at their own 41 staring at a 2nd and four and the other at the San Francisco 48 yard line with a 2nd and 2.
Eagles Kicker Jake Elliott missed an extra point after the first touchdown that cost his team a chance to tie the game as the Birds trailed San Francisco by four and needed a touchdown to win as they cracked the red zone with under a minute left to play.
Late Defensive Lapse
The Birds defense also has to shoulder some blame for the loss as they couldn’t keep the 49ers out of the endzone with a two point lead in the final minutes. Instead of holding the 49ers to a field goal they allowed the San Francisco to go 66 yards in five minutes to take a four point lead, 23-19 with 2:54 left in regulation. This followed a late third quarter drive that ended on the first play of the fourth quarter with a beautifully timed and even better executed trick play that saw wide receiver Jujuan Jennings hit Christian McCaffrey with a 29 yard touchdown strike that caught the Eagles secondary off guard. That gave San Francisco a one point lead, 17-16, with a whole quarter left to play.
But the Eagles got life when Birds cornerback Quenyon Mitchell picked off Brock Purdy for the second time in the game on the Niners ensuing drove but it only led to an Elliott 33 yard field goal after the Birds’ offense once against stalled at the 49ers 15 yard line. Philly won the turnover battle 2-0 but were only able to scratch out three points off of those San Francisco miscues.
Blown 4th Quarter Lead
But after the Eagles regained the lead,19-17, with eight minutes left in regulation on that Elliott field goal their defense uncharacteristically let the 49ers go right down the field in 10 plays and 66 yards that ended with a Purdy four yard pass touchdown pass to McCaffrey to give the Niners that four point cushion after 49ers kicker Eddie Peneiro missed the extra point.
The Final Drive
So that left the champs with 2:54 left in their season, unless they could drive the field and punch in a potential game-winning touchdown. Their final drive started at their own 35 yard line and after A.J. Brown dropped his third ball of the day on a third and five, Hurts completed a clutch 4th and 11 to throw to Dallas Goedert, who scored both the Birds’ touchdowns Sunday, on a 15 yard crossing route, giving the Eagles a fresh set of downs at the San Francisco 40 yard line with two minutes left to play. Hurts followed with two passes to Devonta Smith for 20 yards that gave the Eagles a first down at the 20 yard line but that’s where Philadelphia’s season would die as they would go not gain another yard.
On first down hurts rolled to his right, couldn’t find an open receiver and took a sack for a one yard loss. That useless play preceded three straight incompletions, the final nail in the coffin, an awful decision by Hurts to throw into triple coverage as he tried to thread a microscopic needle to Goedert. In case you were wondering the last play, which the Birds burned a precious timeout to discuss, was called four times in the 10 play drive, basically an “all go” i.e. four receivers running go routes with the two inside receivers cutting towrds eachother while the outside guys cut out. In other words the play had very little chance of working and is a relatively easy passing concept for a defense to cover.
Hurts did not rise to the usual occasion as he was just 9/19 for 75 yards, 0 touchdowns and a completion percentage of 47.5 in the second half. The reigning Super Bowl MVP finished the day 20/35 for 168 with 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and a quarterback rating about 20 percentage points under his playoff average, an abysmal 79.2.
The Birds’ receivers dropped four balls, all on third down. A.J. Bown accounted for two drops and made no effort to haul in a deep ball in the 2nd quarter that Hurts dropped in right in front of him, as he had a step on the cornerback but saw the safety closing in.
One the other side, despite throwing two interceptions, Brock Purdy kept his team in it with a gutty performance that saw him throw for 262 yards on 18/31, 2 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 80.3.
Saquon Barkley broke the century mark for just the 3rd time this season compared to 14 times last year in the Birds run to the Super Bowl. Last season’s rushing king carried the ball 26 times for 106 in the 23-19 loss to the 49ers.
Just a .500 Team Since October 5th
After starting the season 4-0 the Eagles went just 7-7 starting with that home loss to the Denver Broncos back on October 5, including today’s rather unsettling loss to the 49ers.
It is officially the off-season for Eagles while the 49ers advance to play the Seattle Seahawks, the top overall seed in the NFC, next weekend.
Eagles Squander Opportunities, Lose Wildcard Game to the 49ers in the Usual Painful Way