49ers vs. Eagles: Key moments from Philadelphia’s win as San Francisco shuffles QBs
The shine came off Nick Mullens’ feel good story.
The 49ers backup quarterback turned the ball over three times, including one fumble that led to an Eagles touchdown and a pick-six soon after, that paved the way for the Eagles to upset the defending conference champions, 25-20. The 49ers fell to (2-2) as Mullens was replaced late in the game by third-stringer C.J. Beathard.
Mullens struggled to push the ball down field to anyone not named George Kittle, and the offensive line couldn’t move Philadelphia’s talented front. The Eagles hit the quarterback 15 times and had five sacks, preventing San Francisco from building much of a rhythm throughout the game.
The 49ers had a chance to win the game with a last-minute drive, getting down to the 32-yard line with 17 seconds remaining, but Beathard’s Hail Mary heave to the end zone fell short.
Here’s our running break down of the game.
First quarter
The game opened with both teams going three and out. Mullens on his second throw missed a wide open Kyle Juszczyk who might have scored as all the Eagles’ defenders bit on the play action while the fullback leaked out of the back field.
Philadelphia mounted a threat on the next series as two passes to Greg Ward put the ball in 49ers’ territory. But Wentz was intercepted by a diving Azeez Al-Shaair, who was starting in place of Dre Greenlaw. Javon Kinlaw hit Wentz as he threw it and Al-Shaair was able barely able to prevent the ball from hitting the ground.
However, nothing came of it, and the 49ers had to punt the ball back. They failed to get a first down on their first two possessions.
The Eagles got down to the 49ers’ 11-yard line thanks to a 28-yard swing pass to running back Miles Sanders in the left flat, thwarting San Francisco’s inside blitz. Wentz scored on the next play with a zone read run that was made easy when defensive end Dion Jordan, playing in place of Nick Bosa and Dee Ford, bit inside on the fake, leaving a wide open lane to the end zone. The Eagles hit the 2-point conversion on an easy pass to Ertz to take an 8-0 lead.
Coach Kyle Shanahan responded by force-feeding George Kittle with two catches and a run. Deebo Samuel also had his first touch of the year, fittingly, with a reverse.
Then Shanahan dialed up a a bubble screen to Brandon Aiyuk, who weaved through Philadelphia’s defense and leaped over safety Marcus Epps for the impressive touchdown. It was Aiyuk’s second in as many weeks.
Second quarter
The teams went back and forth trading punts until the 49ers made it to the red zone for the first time when Mullens threw a dime to Kittle down the right sideline on a go route. It was one of Mullens’ best throws he’s made.
And then he followed it up with one of his worst when he tossed an interception to safety Rodney McLeod. Mullens was under pressure and had no business making the throw. It appeared Trent Taylor was his target but there was no opening as he was double covered.
The second quarter saw four combined punts, Mullens’ interception, and San Francisco’s decision to sit on the ball before the half.
Third quarter
The 49ers came out of the locker room looking entirely different on offense. They marched 75 yards over 12 plays, had six first downs, and ended it with Kittle’s first touchdown of the season. He had three catches on the drive, giving him nine for 108 yards on the night. On third-and-goal, Kittle ran a corner route and beat linebacker Genard Avery with a well-placed ball from Mullens. It was Mullens’ second touchdown pass of the year. The score: 14-8.
The Eagles responded with a drive into 49ers’ territory that included a converted fourth-and-short on a Wentz sneak. The settled for a 35-yard field goal to cap a 16-play drive, easily the longest of the game to this point. That made it a 3-point game with just under 16 minutes to play.
Through three quarters, the 49ers’ receivers had just two catches for 21 yards combined (Aiyuk’s touchdown was ruled a running play). Kittle, meanwhile, caught all 10 of the passes thrown his way.
Fourth quarter
Slot cornerback K’Waun Williams exited the game at the 12:16 mark after an outside running play. On the first play after his departure, his replacement, Jamar Taylor, was credited with a sack on a blitz that also saw inside pressure from Dion Jordan, forcing a punt and giving the ball back to the home team at their 45-yard line.
Williams, who entered the weekend as questionable to play with a hip injury, immediately went to the locker room.
The 49ers gave up the ball on the following drive when defensive back Cre’Von LeBlanc forced a fumble of Mullens that was recovered by defensive lineman Malik Jackson at San Francisco’s 42-yard line. It came after Mullens’ high throw to Kendrick Bourne couldn’t be hauled in for an easy first down.
A very odd sequence happened next, that included Eagles coach Doug Pederson taking 12 yards away from his offense, setting up a third down at the 22, in exchange for a first down at the 34-yard line. The craziness of the sequence (deciding to take the ball out of field goal range) didn’t matter. Wentz hooked up with Travis Fulgham for a 42-yard touchdown.
And on the first play of San Francisco’s next possession, Mullens threw a pick-six to linebacker Alex Singleton, making it a 25-14 game with 5:50 remaining.
Mullens was replaced by third-string quarterback C.J. Beathard, who completed seven straight passes to put the 49ers into field goal range, though he took a sack inside the red zone which caused the 49ers to burn one of their three timeouts, which they would have needed on defense to get the ball back. They scored with 2:02 left on Jerick McKinnon’s 1-yard run but failed to get the 2-point conversion on an awkward pass to Kittle, though it appeared Beathard could have walked it in.
This story was originally published October 4, 2020 at 6:51 PM.
