Niners Nation
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.
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