Eagles can’t mount another comeback, fall to 49ers

The Eagles’ inconsistent play eventually caught up to them on Sunday, as they lost badly, 42-19, to the San Francisco 49ers, capping a week of nerve-wracking.

“We’re not good enough right now,” stated veteran center Jason Kelce of the Eagles. We’re obviously upset with our performance; we couldn’t finish it today. However, there are still some games to go and a ton of football to absorb. I continue to have complete faith in every player in this locker room, regardless of position. This game makes no attempt to change that.

The Eagles tied an NFL record by winning all four of their games after trailing at halftime in each of the previous four encounters.

This run of success came to an end on Sunday as San Francisco took a 14-6 lead into halftime and then put it on overdrive after the break, giving Philadelphia its second-biggest defeat under head coach Nick Sirianni. (With many of its starters rested for the playoffs, the Eagles’ biggest loss came against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18 of the 2021 season, by a score of 25 points.)

We weren’t talented enough as players or coaches. As easy as that. Why don’t you take that action? You must, however, also give them credit. That football team is excellent. It will appear that way if you don’t show up and play your best against the players and coaches they have,” Sirianni remarked. Thus, we must improve as coaches. Need to do better on the field. There is much for us to tidy up.

Early in the season, Philadelphia had trouble in the red zone, but over the last three games, they have improved, going 10-for-10 in red zone touchdowns. The problem reappeared on Sunday, though, as the Eagles settled for field goals in each of their first two attempts inside the 20-yard line rather than scoring touchdowns.

For the most part, I think we got off to a solid start with a nice rhythm, tempo, and execution. Jalen Hurts, the quarterback for Philadelphia, stated, “We just kind of weren’t able to connect and execute like we wanted to in the red zone.” Hurts ended 26-of-45 passing for 298 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing). “When you’re playing a good team like that, every little thing matters.”

After a brilliant start, the Philly defense let up 456 yards of offense. Last week, they played the Buffalo Bills for 92 plays, without starting linebackers Zach Cunningham and Nakobe Dean because of injuries.

Deebo Samuel, a wide receiver for the Niners, finished the day with three touchdowns. 115 of his 116 receiving yards came after the catch, according to Next Gen data.

According to defensive tackle Fletcher Cox of the Eagles, “We didn’t do a lot of things right.” We refrained from tackling. We didn’t provide any coverage. We were missing a number of plays.

The Eagles (10-2) will now focus on their next major game, which is against the rival Dallas Cowboys (9-3) on Monday night. All of a sudden, there is more competition for the top spot in the NFC, with the 49ers (9-3) and Detroit Lions (9-3) both in contention.

As the Philadelphia players left the field, there was some talk among them about seeing this San Francisco team once more. That’s a very real possibility: according to ESPN Analytics, Eagles-49ers was the most likely NFC Championship Game matchup coming into the week at 38%.

There could be a rematch, stated Jordan Mailata, the left tackle for the Eagles. However, you have to admit that they were the superior squad when you look in the mirror today. We failed to carry it out. We did not execute well and we did not take advantage of our opportunities, particularly in the red zone. You can’t afford such wasted opportunities against a well-coached and disciplined club like them.

Read more at News Intercept:

Florida State tops Louisville for first ACC title since 2014