PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 03: Deebo Samuel #19 of the San Francisco 49ers scores a touchdown during the third quarter in the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on December 03, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA – Last time here, George Kittle lamented the 49ers’ NFC Championship Game loss with a statement that would essentially define their triumphant 42-19 return Sunday.
“You didn’t really get to see all the 49er football that we wanted to put out there on tape,” Kittle said after January’s 31-7 loss. “But life kind of just punches you in the face sometimes.”
Sunday, the 49ers scored touchdowns on six consecutive possessions to seize control, and, along the way, Dre Greenlaw punched – or at least poked – the face of the Eagles’ security chief in a sideline scrap that merely paused the 49ers’ momentum.
Scoring three of those touchdowns was Deebo Samuel, the 49ers’ most vocal critic of the Eagles after last season’s loss, in which quarterback Brock Purdy sustained a torn elbow ligament that rendered the offense toothless.
Purdy added to this vibrant comeback by outperforming his Eagles’ counterpart, Jalen Hurts, who briefly got knocked out of the game for a concussion evaluation after a hard hit from Oren Burks, Greenlaw’s replacement.
Purdy threw for 314 yards and four touchdowns for a 148.8 passer rating, with no interceptions and only two sacks. McCaffrey’s 93 yards (one touchdown) pushed him over the 1,000-yard mark this season, the first 49ers’ rusher to cross that plateau since Frank Gore in 2014.
In winning their fourth straight game, the 49ers (9-3) gained crucial ground in the NFC playoff race. They are one game behind the Eagles (10-2) with five regular-season games remaining.
This marked the 49ers’ third road game in four weeks since their bye. Next Sunday, they are home against Seattle Seahawks (6-6), whom they beat 31-13 in Seattle on Thanksgiving.
The 49ers’ six straight touchdown drives spanned distances of 85, 90, 75, 77, 75 and 47 yards, against a reeling Eagles defense that played 95 snaps the previous Sunday night in their comeback win here over the Buffalo Bills.
All that dominance was temporarily overshadowed by a third-quarter play that cost the 49ers 25 yards — and Greenlaw, who got ejected for a left-hand jab toward Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro. After DeVonta Smith made a 13-yard reception against Ambry Thomas’ soft coverage, Greenlaw suplex-slammed Smith to the ground near the Eagles’ sideline, resulting in the confrontation with DiSandro, who also got ejected (and drew a standing ovation from Eagles fans).
Five plays later, Hurts scored on a 1-yard run, on the Eagles’ second straight attempt at their signature “Brotherly Shove” quarterback sneak. The 49ers’ lead was cut to 21-13, and Eagles fans were in full throat, including one who slammed his hands against the press box windows that slid open; the fan was not ejected.
Samuel’s second touchdown of the game – a 48-yard catch-and-run – put the 49ers ahead 28-13 with 3:54 until the fourth quarter. It silenced the hometown crowd’s roar from the earlier drama involving Greenlaw’s ejection and Hurts’ touchdown.
After Purdy squeezed in an 18-yard, third-down touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings for a 35-13 lead, the Eagles answered with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Hurts to DeVonta Smith with 5 1/2 minutes to go. The Eagles had won their past four games by overcoming halftime deficits, but the 49ers would not let that streak continue.
Only 14 seconds and two snaps after Smith’s touchdown, Samuel sped past haggard defenders on a 46-yard catch-and-run to complete his touchdown hat trick, and pushing the lead safely up to 23 points.
Samuel’s first score came on a 12-yard touchdown run to put the 49ers up 21-6 only 3:19 into the second half, a drive that was kept afloat with third-down completions to Jennings (18 yards) and Christian McCaffrey (33 yards). Not to be overlooked in those long completions was Purdy’s protection, such as Colton McKivitz shoving Haason Reddick out of the way for Jennings’ completion.
If too much weight can be placed on a second-quarter touchdown drive, the 49ers merited such attention – twice.
After two lousy opening drives, the 49ers had minus-6 yards and a 6-0 deficit. Then they came the Q2 earnings call, a quarter in which they marched 85 yards for a go-ahead touchdown (Brandon Aiyuk’s 2-yard catch of Purdy’s play-action pass) and then 90 yards for an encore score (McCaffrey 2-yard run) to eat up nearly the final 4 ½ minutes before halftime.
Aiyuk’s diving touchdown grab was preceded by other clutch reception, including third-down conversions by George Kittle and Deebo Samuel. The longest completion came when Kittle initially blocked Haason Reddick, then slipped loose for a 32-yard catch-and-run to the 10-yard line. On goal-to-go, Purdy opened with a high-stepping escape to the 4-yard line, and after an incompletion to Kittle and an Eagles offside penalty, Purdy executed a play-action pass for Aiyuk’s fourth straight game with a touchdown catch.
Touchdown drive No. 2 required 10 plays, and no third-down situations, as the 49ers mixed four passes with six runs. Once in the red zone, Samuel ran 14 yards to the 4-yard line following a cavalry of blockers (Kittle, McCaffrey, Jauan Jennings). McCaffrey needed two attempts to get across the goal line for a third straight game.
The Eagles rolled up 120 yards on their first two series, but they settled for field goals thanks to clutch 49ers defense in the red zone. On the opening series, Charvarius Ward made a touchdown-saving pass breakup in the end zone, a feat he’s pulled off in four straight games. On the Eagles’ second drive, the Eagles reached the 14-yard line before Jalen Hurts crumbled in the pocket and Arik Armstead got credited with a sack.
Ironically, the 49ers deployed as many quarterbacks this game as they had available last visit, when Purdy (elbow) and Josh Johnson (concussion) got hurt. This time, a healthy Purdy got pulled so Sam Darnold could take the garbage-time snap and finish off this win.
Originally published at Cam Inman