Grading the 49ers to watch from Week 13 rout of the Eagles
The San Francisco 49ers sent a message to the NFL with their demolition of the Philadelphia Eagles. San Francisco routed Philadelphia 42-19 on the road in a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game, avenging the January defeat and lending great credence to the school of thought that the Niners would have prevailed in that […]
The San Francisco 49ers sent a message to the NFL with their demolition of the Philadelphia Eagles.
San Francisco routed Philadelphia 42-19 on the road in a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game, avenging the January defeat and lending great credence to the school of thought that the Niners would have prevailed in that playoff encounter had Brock Purdy not gotten injured on the first offensive series.
Purdy and the offense rose to the occasion of delivering in a raucous atmosphere at Lincoln Financial Field, and they were supported by a defense that kept the 49ers in the game with crucial red-zone stops in the first quarter when the 49er attack was struggling.
Prior to the most highly anticipated game of the 49ers’ regular season, we identified five players to watch. Let’s look back at how they performed.
Brock Purdy: A
The 49ers’ quarterback blocked out the noise around his return to the stadium where he tore an elbow ligament in last year’s title game and ensured the offense did not unravel amid an incredible din from the home fans as the 49ers failed to get anything going.
After a first quarter in which the Niners had negative six yards, Purdy led the 49ers on six straight touchdown drives. While the likes of Deebo Samuel and George Kittle deserve tremendous praise for their playmaking contributions to the blowout, this latest massive victory arguably served as the most compelling evidence yet for Purdy’s MVP case.
In a hostile environment, Purdy displayed outstanding poise and patience, with the accuracy he demonstrated setting up the yards after catch opportunities on which the 49ers eviscerated the Eagles’ defense.
Purdy made big-time throws at key junctures, a perfectly placed ball down the left sideline to Christian McCaffrey on third and three on the opening drive of the second half going for 33 yards and setting up Deebo Samuel for a 12-yard score on an end around.
Later, after the Eagles had pulled within eight to inject life in Lincoln Financial Field, Purdy made a huge completion to Brandon Aiyuk on a pinpoint throw on third and seven from his own 26. Two plays later, Samuel was surging 48 yards through the open field to make it 28-13.
Through his ability to stay composed and consistently deliver with anticipation and excellent placement, his completion percentage over expectation was 6.4 percent according to rbsdm.com, Purdy absolutely crushed the toughest test of his career and in doing so joined Tom Brady (2007) and Aaron Rodgers (2011) as the only the third quarterback in NFL history with four games with at least three touchdown passes and a passer rating of 140 or higher in a single season.
Both Brady and Rodgers ended those seasons as the league MVP, and it’s getting harder to dispute Purdy’s resume for that award.
Christian McCaffrey: A
It initially looked as if it might be tough sledding for McCaffrey in the first quarter as the Eagles swarmed him in the backfield for negative yardage.
But the 49ers’ do-it-all running back was soon slicing through the Philadelphia defense en route to a history-making performance, his two-yard touchdown run at the end of the second quarter making him the third player in NFL history with 50 rushing touchdowns and 25 receiving touchdowns.
McCaffrey finished with 93 yards on the ground and 40 through the air, most of his joy as a runner coming on rushes to the left side as Trent Williams and Co. continually bulldozed lanes for him to surge through.
However, this was also another performance in which McCaffrey thrived through his ability to change direction instantaneously in small spaces to create extra yardage as he became the first 49ers running back since 2014 to record 1,000 rushing yards in a season. In a game in which the 49ers stars shone extremely bright, McCaffrey made sure he took plenty of the limelight.
Deebo Samuel: A+
For all the impressive play of Purdy, McCaffrey, Aiyuk and Kittle, it was San Francisco’s most vocal offensive star who produced the most dominant display.
Samuel was the 49ers player who talked the biggest game after last season’s title game, insisting the 49ers would have prevailed with a healthy Purdy and going as far to call Eagles cornerback James Bradberry trash.
He stood by those statements and promptly walked the walk by running through the Eagles secondary, gashing Philadelphia to the tune of 138 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.
His second score that went for 48 yards took all the life out of the home crowd, with 43 of those yards coming after the catch in a devastating display of why he is one of the most feared playmakers in the NFL. When Samuel is in the kind of mood he was in on Sunday, the 49ers’ offense can be virtually unstoppable.
Nick Bosa: B+
On the surface, it might have appeared that reigning Defensive Player of the Year Bosa struggled in his heavyweight matchup with Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson.
Bosa was not able to get home and sack Jalen Hurts, however, the 49ers executed their plan to contain Hurts to perfection, as the former second overall pick explained.
“Our whole mentality was ‘we’re not trying to set the record on sacks, we’re trying to close the pocket and make sure his eyes are on us,'" Bosa said. "It was an unselfish mentality from everybody. It ended perfectly."
Even with the 49ers deviating from their traditional plan of attack, Bosa still had eight pressures and was the 49ers’ highest-graded run defender, per Pro Football Focus.
The splash plays may not have been there, but he once again made a massive impact beyond the traditional box score.
Ji’Ayir Brown: B
The expectation was that Brown would receive a more severe examination in his second start than he did in his first, a blowout win over the Seattle Seahawks.
That did not materialize, the 49ers’ top pick from the 2023 draft only targeted once and giving up a six-yard reception.
Brown was the 49ers’ leading tackler alongside Dre Greenlaw with seven and the best thing that can be said about the third-rounder is that the defense has not missed a beat since he entered the lineup after Talanoa Hufanga tore his ACL.
Even higher-profile tests await in the postseason, but there is no indication yet that he will fail to come through them.
49ers’ Arik Armstead leaves Eagles game with foot injury
He isn’t concerned.
