Getty Trent Williams, 49ers captain
Of course, Trent Williams remembers the last time the 49ers played the Eagles before Sunday’s eye-opening blowout in Philadelphia. It was, after all, the NFC Championship game in January. San Francisco had then-rookie Brock Purdy at quarterback, with journeyman Josh Johnson behind him and backups Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance out with injuries.
Purdy was injured, of course, on the first offensive series of the game for the 49ers, leaving the game in the hands of Johnson, a 36-year-old journeyman who had a 1-8 record in nine career starts and was a veteran of the Arena League and XFL. The 31-7 result was predictable.
No offense to Johnson, but star tackle and 49ers captain Trent Williams knows that the loss to the Eagles in the conference championship was not exactly a sporting one. And the win over the Eagles on Sunday is something entirely new on its own. Still, Williams took a moment to throw a little shade at Philly.
“I wouldn’t call it redemption,” Williams told Josina Anderson of CBS Sports. “Last year was last year. More power to ’em, they won that game. This game, today, was all about us and showing the world where we sit when it comes to the hierarchy in this NFL. Last year is last year. We didn’t have a quarterback. You’re supposed to win that game.”
1-on-1 #49ers OT Trent Williams on the message sent after winning the NFCCG rematch: “This game was about showing where we sit when it comes to the hierarchy in the NFL..”
Jojo: “…And where’s that?”
Trent: “I think we are at the top.”
Jojo: “I think?”
Trent: “I know.”
Eagles Accused 49ers of ‘a Lot of Crying’
Of course, in the run-up to the Eagles vs. 49ers rematch, the Eagles took special care to let the world know that they’re tired of the 49ers using the injury to Brock Purdy as a reason for the loss. Haason Redick, who injured Purdy on a sack in the NFC championship, was outspoken.
“Talk is cheap,” Reddick told KYW News Radio. “They [San Francisco] get to come back in the Linc. It was a lot of boo hoos last year, a lot of crying, a lot of what if, a lot of this, a lot of that. They get a chance to come back in here, line that sh** up and prove it again.”
The 49ers did just that. But Trent Williams still holds that it is silly to deny that the Purdy injury didn’t seriously bolster the Eagles’ chances of beating the 49ers in that game.
“It don’t matter. It’s like two people in court, right?” Williams said. “Everybody got their side of the story. So, you know, the reality is, when we have a quarterback, we’re a pretty good team. And we proved that today.”
Trent Williams: 49er Offense Was Patient
Things did start out somewhat shaky on Sunday for the 49ers. Their first two drives went 3-and-out while the Eagles were able to put together sustained drives, though both only ended in field goals. The 49ers ran only eight plays in the first quarter—four incomplete passes, a sack (Redick on Purdy, again), a loss of four yards on a Deebo Samuel run, and two punts.
Williams said the 49ers just needed to be patient.
“I don’t think anything changed,” he said. “I think that two 3-and-outs with an offense that possessed the ball on the other side, kinda had us cold in the first quarter. We only had two cracks at it. I don’t even think Christian had a carry in the first quarter. We got a batted-down ball on first-and-10, so second-and-10 you kinda gotta pass it again. So, they got us a little bit in the first couple drives and we just had to settle down and get to our game plan, which is running the ball, playing balanced offense.”