Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce (62) lines up against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of the NFC Championship NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
SANTA CLARA — The win-loss record says the 49ers aren’t beating up on opponents as they were a year ago based on the week-after stat that so delighted the front office and coaching staff a year ago.
Play the 49ers, lose the next week. It happened 15 consecutive times in 2022. There was pride in the idea that the 49ers were so physical, win or lose, that their opponent was beat up the following week as evidenced by the scoreboard.
Fast forward to 2023, and teams are 6-5 after they play the 49ers. But it’s conceivable the 49ers did something even more tangible to the Philadelphia Eagles, who could fall into the second seed with a loss to Dallas on Sunday night.
The 49ers throttled quarterback Jalen Hurts by going against their nature and abandoning their rush-first-ask-questions-later philosophy in favor of something more strategic. Dallas has a fierce pass rush in its own right in Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, and the 49ers’ Nick Bosa assumes the Cowboys were paying attention.
“Hopefully the Cowboys watched the tape,” Bosa said Wednesday. “He wasn’t completing passes when he had to roll outside. Those tackles kick so much, it invites you to pick a side, because Jalen is looking at the rush every play. You just have to be disciplined and not give im that quick escape route where he can (pass) to his guys. And our back end played awesome.”
Hurts often had plenty of time to throw, but was watching defenders for potential escape hatches to pick up back-breaking rushing first downs. In what was tantamount to a run-and-gun basketball team mandating four passes before any shot and taking it possession by possession, edge rushers such as Bosa and Chase Young instead denied Hurts outside run lanes rather than going for the sack.
“You get frustrated as pass rusher when the quarterback is holding the ball for that long, no matter what your game plan is,” Bosa said. “But when you look at what we set out to do and planned all along, we did exactly that.”
So instead of Bosa, Young and Javon Hargrave getting to Hurts, Javon Kinlaw had a pair of sacks and Kalia Davis one in his 49ers debut. Which was fine by Bosa. The 49ers’ willingness to buy into an all-for-one philosophy with a star-studded roster is one of their more appealing strengths.
“Nobody needs to be the guy,” Bosa said. There’s 20 guys who could be the guy and it just depends when you’re moment comes that you’re ready for it.”
If Dallas beats the Eagles and the 49ers defeat the Seahawks Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, the Cowboys, Eagles and 49ers will all be 10-3. The 49ers beat both NFC East foes handily and would assume the No. 1 seed.
Ryan and Purdy’s starting debut
Safety Logan Ryan, signed to the roster for safety depth, started for Tampa Bay last Dec. 11 in the starting debut of quarterback Brock Purdy. The 49ers jumped to a 28-0 lead and won 35-7.
“We weren’t expecting that,” Ryan said. “He showed great poise. He showed who he is. He made a lot of magic happen. I think we got introduced to who Brock Purdy was. Unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of that, but, hey, I’m happy we gave him that confidence. He’s my quarterback now.”
Ryan, 32, is an 11-year veteran of 142 games and 129 starts with New England, Tennessee, the New York Giants and Tampa Bay. He’ll provide depth with Tashaun Gipson at free safety and rookie Ji’Ayir Brown at strong safety with Talanoa Hufanga out for the year after a torn ACL and George Odum out with a torn biceps.
He was planning on being picky about playing this season, and was boarding a Thanksgiving Disneyland cruise to the Bahamas when 49ers general manager John Lynch called.
“He said, ‘Let’s talk when you get off the cruise,” Ryan said. “The Disney cruise had a great gym.”
So the family vacation turned into daily gym workouts on the ship as well as studying 49ers film on a tablet. Whether Ryan is ready to play right away remains to be seen.
“Two weeks ago I was on a cruise. I’m here today and I’ve got the playbook and I’ve been here all morning and all night learning this defense as fast as I can pick it up,” Ryan said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Ryan has played for defenses designed by Bill Belichick, Mike Vrabel, Dean Pees and Todd Bowles, so there’s not a lot the 49ers can throw at him that is too confusing.
“When you lose guys, you’d love to have an option to bring in a guy who’s played and doesn’t have to learn everything for the first time,” Shanahan said. “He’s been around long enough to understand it and I was glad we were able to get him here.”
More McCaffrey magic
McCaffrey has 261 touches either rushing or receiving for 1,461 yards and it’s only part of why Shanahan can’t bring himself to take him off the field. McCaffrey can block and sell a fake as well as anyone.
“Christian is the best player I’ve ever been around without the ball in his hands,” Shanahan said. “Just the little things he does that are so obsessive. Like, yeah, everybody can carry out fakes, but he goes to the extreme and it’s unbelievable.”
MVP gibberish
Purdy is now the favorite in some circles to be to be this year’s MVP. Last week, Shanahan said of McCaffrey “you definitely can’t say that Christian is behind anyone. He’s as valuable in this league as anyone.”
I’ll defer to former 49ers assistant Mike McDaniel, whose Miami Dolphins have ascended to the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
“Call me when it’s a 13-game season,” McDaniel said.
Originally published at Jerry McDonald