The 49ers suffered a bad loss to the Eagles on Sunday Night Football.
Here are our quarter-by-quarter observations:
First quarter
– Javon Kinlaw got in the backfield on the Eagles’ first play of the game, but he overran running back Miles Sanders. It’s still good to see the rookie getting through — he just needs to finish those plays.
– Deebo Samuel is active, but didn’t start. Brandon Aiyuk and Kendrick Bourne were the two receivers. Mullens missed Bourne badly on a first-down throw. Getting into first-and-long isn’t good. Mullens then missed a wide open Kyle Juszczyk. Brutal.
– Turnover! Arik Armstead got initial pressure on Carson Wentz. Kerry Hyder forced him back inside and Javon Kinlaw got a piece of his throw. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair came up with a nice diving interception off the tip. That’s how San Francisco’s defensive line has to work with Nick Bosa and Dee Ford out. That was excellent from the front and a nice job by the secondary to force Wentz to hold onto the ball.
– The 49ers’ offense isn’t sharp so far. Their offensive line is getting dominated and it’s throwing them out of rhythm. Mullens is not handling the pressure as well as he did a week ago.
– Kwon Alexander came up with a nice stop in the run game. He knifed through the offensive line to hit Sanders in the backfield. Dontae Johnson also stuck his nose in for the stop. Nice job by those two, especially Alexander who’s struggled this season.
– The 49ers defense looks terrible. There’s 4:30 left in the first quarter and they’ve looked lost all night. They blitzed and nobody covered Sanders out of the backfield and he rumbled for an easy 28-yard gain into the red zone.
– Wentz walks in for an 11-yard touchdown. That’s a pathetic series by the 49ers’ defense. They go for two and again the 49ers are lost on defense. Easy work for Philadelphia as Wentz hits Zach Ertz for two. Eagles 8, 49ers 0
– A George Kittle 17-yard gain is the 49ers’ first first down of the half. He got in on a shallow cross and rumbled for a big gain.
– Deebo Samuel’s first touch of the year is a reverse for 10 yards and a first down. Expecting more of the horizontal stuff to try and limit the Eagles’ pass rush.
– And on cue it’s a sweep to Kittle for 8 yards. This is how San Francisco is going to move the ball with their offensive line struggling.
– Brandon. Aiyuk. Words won’t do this touchdown justice. Eagles 8, 49ers 7
AIYUK KIDDING ME🤯@THE2ERA@SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/q5BYO7rAtW
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 5, 2020
END OF QUARTER: Eagles 8, 49ers 7
Second quarter
– The 49ers forced a three-and-out on the series after their touchdown. Fred Warner came on a blitz and hit Wentz as he was throwing to force the incompletion. San Francisco appears to have been blitzing more the last two weeks.
– Mullens is struggling, as is the offensive line. This is a rough go for the backup QB. He looks lost when protection breaks down.
– Armstead is dominating off the edge. He got pressure on a third-and-6 to force a throw away and a punt. The 49ers needed him to hit a new level and he has Sunday against a banged up Eagles offensive line.
– The first deep shot of the night goes to Kittle. That was a sweet throw by Mullens and Kittle did a nice job to create plenty of separation.
– Turnover. Mullens under pressure floated one to the middle where Rodney McLeod hauled it in for Philadelphia. The 49ers were in the red zone. Not converting in the red area and giving the ball away is how San Francisco loses this game. That was abhorrent by the QB.
– There’s a break for the 49ers. A bad snap turns a first-and-10 into a second-and-27 for the Eagles with 1:30 left in the first half at their own 38. San Francisco can swing momentum back if they capitalize on that miscue.
– Now it’s a sack by DJ Jones. He blew through the left guard to sack Wentz and bring up a third-and-34. This is the series the defense needed after a bad miscue by the offense.
END OF QUARTER: Eagles 8, 49ers 7
Third quarter
– Sweet shovel pass to Jeff Wilson Jr. who’s getting his first snaps to open the second half. He got the 49ers to the 10 after shaking a couple tackles. His value is tough to assess because he’s a tough runner, but there’s not a lot of wiggle to his game.
– There’s Kittle for six. On a third-and-goal from the 5, Mullens went up high to the tight end for a touchdown. Kittle is at nine catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. 49ers 14, Eagles 8
– Nice pass breakup by Dontae Johnson on a third-and-8 to force a 35-yard Eagles field goal. Johnson hasn’t been great, but that was good play when the 49ers needed it. 49ers 14, Eagles 11
– K’Waun Williams limped off the field after that Johnson PBU. That’s not good after he was dealing with a hip injury all week in practice.
– The Eagles just can’t cover Kittle. He just hauled in his 10th catch on 10 targets. He’s up to 128 yards. This is what this team needs to do when the offense is scuffling — feed their best players.
END OF QUARTER: 49ers 14, Eagles 11
Fourth quarter
– K’Waun Williams had to exit after hitting his knee on a tackle. Jamar Taylor entered the game for him and immediately came up with a sack on a blitz. Dion Jordan was in there as well. That was a huge third-down stop. Now the 49ers take over at their own 45.
– Oof. Bad drop by Kendrick Bourne on a second-and-10 that would’ve gone for an easy first down. It looked like he mistimed his jump. That’s a bad drop that brought up a third-and-10. Mullens fumbled on the third down. Rough, rough sequence for the 49ers’ offense.
– Fred Warner is good.
– Fourth-and-4, easy pitch and catch from Wentz to John Hightower for a first down to extend the drive. Jason Verrett got beat in coverage. Kerry Hyder Jr. strung out an end around and Jaquiski Tartt cleaned it up for a 12-yard loss.
– Wow. A defensive holding bails out the Eagles with an automatic first down. This has been such a sloppy game in so many facets.
– Speaking of sloppy — another bad snap by the Eagles goes for an 8-yard loss. The 49ers need a stop.
– They didn’t get it. Dontae Johnson got beat bad by something named Travis Fulgham. Eagles 18, 49ers 14
– Mullens throws a dreadful pick 6. Hit the linebacker in the numbers and he ran it in for a score. Goodnight. Eagles 25, 49ers 14
– CJ Beathard is in and rolling. He got the 49ers inside the 5, but it’s taken more than three minutes off the clock.
– Kendrick Bourne looked to get in for a score, but he was short. Third-and-goal, and the clock runs.
– There’s a touchdown. It’s McKinnon who slams it in. That’s a nice play to push it in. Two-point conversion fails. Kittle flat out dropped it. Eagles 25, 49ers 20
– Onside kick fails. Eagles need one first down to seal it.
– The 49ers defense comes up with a big stop. They’ll get the ball back with about 1:40 left and no timeouts.
– Beathard is cooking. He’s 14-15 for 139 yards and has the 49ers to the Eagles’ 33.
– Incomplete on fourth-and-10. Beathard’s heave to the end zone got near Kittle and Bourne, but nobody could haul it in. Game over.
END OF GAME: Eagles 25, 49ers 20