49ers Deal Eagles First Loss As Offense Struggles
SANTA CLARA, CA (CBS) — Something just didn't seem right. It didn't look right, either. Not after Aaron Lynch tossed Nick Foles down like a ragdoll early in the fourth quarter, and Foles got up wincing in pain after grabbing a handful of the new Levi's Stadium turf.
Working behind a revamped offensive line, nothing worked for Foles and the Eagles offensively on Sunday, as they struggled to move the ball against the San Francisco 49ers en route to their first loss this season, 26-21.
"We got whooped up front, we're not very good up front right now, we have a lot of guys banged up, that's not an excuse, it's just the reality of it," Eagles' coach Chip Kelly said. "Jason Peters was the only one playing the position he started the season at, so we have three new guys inside. When you play against a front like that, Justin Smith is one of the best in the game, Patrick Willis, that group, we got beat.
"When your front can handle the run game and generate a pass rush, you can sit back and play zone and not give up a lot of big plays. And that's been their MO. Phase wise, our offense we didn't do anything. Our defense and special teams I thought played really, really well. Our defense was on the field way too much."
With 6:22 left to play, the Eagles got their first first down of the second half. The Eagles didn't cross midfield until Foles hit Brad Smith with an 11-yard pass with 4:47 left in the game. By then, the Niners had run 30 plays in Eagles' territory.
Driving from their 9-yard line, the Eagles got to the Niners' 1. But the trouble that followed Foles and the Eagles crept up again, when Foles threw two-straight incompletions while driving for the go-ahead score. Foles overthrew Brent Celek on third-and-goal, and then he rolled right and overthrew Jeremy Maclin on fourth-and-goal.
"I knew they were just going to pack in there and we hadn't run the ball very well all day," Kelly said. "I just tried to put it in the quarterback's hands and tried to run a crossing route with the tight end [Celek] underneath. Missed that. And on the next play, I wanted to get Nick on the perimeter, I wanted to get him away from the rush and he had a couple of options. We just sailed it a little high."
Foles seems prone to a clunker here and there, and this appeared to be another case of that. Foles finished completing 21 of 43 for 195 yards and two interceptions. But he spent most of the game rearing back and looking unsure. The Niners seemed to be telling Foles that it was up to him to beat them.
He didn't.
"There was never a time when we wavered, we always remained confident," Foles said. "We didn't play well offensively today, but our special teams and defense really kept us in the game. We turned it on at the end, but in those situations when you get the ball down there, we have to capitalize and that starts with the quarterback."
On first down over their first nine possessions, the Eagles averaged 2.9 yards. Signs of the fraught offense came early. It was defense and special teams that forged a 21-13 halftime lead for the Eagles. What's more the Eagles did it achieving a mere five first downs in the half and 99 yards of total offense—and 178 return yards.
The Eagles wound up with 213 total yards—just 114 in the second half, 82 coming on their 10th drive that brought them to the Niners' 1.
Once again, LeSean McCoy was a nonfactor. The Eagles had one first down rushing, picked up just 22 yards rushing on 12 carries for a pathetic 1.8 average. McCoy was stymied, held to 17 yards on 10 carries. His longest run was for five yards.
The Eagles did something on special teams that they hadn't done since Nov. 22, 1992 against the New York Giants (in a wild 47-34 Eagles' win that also featured a punt return and interception return for TDs), when they blocked a punt that resulted in a touchdown—the first time in 345 games.
Malcolm Jenkins, however, did something he's been doing the last two weeks—and that's intercept another pass. This time, his career-best third pick in as many games led to a 53-yard interception return for his fourth career TD. Darren Sproles' 82-yard punt return spelled the difference in the first half for the Eagles.
The Eagles came up with a season-high four sacks, three in the first quarter, which were more than what they had the previous two games combined. That was due to the great pressure up the middle by the Eagles.
The Eagles scored first when Trey Burton made an incredible play, beating the 49ers' Dan Stuka inside and swinging his left arm around to block Andy Lee's punt in the end zone. All Smith had to do was fall on it, for a 7-0 Eagles' lead with 12:19 left in the first quarter.
Colin Kaepernick turned a broken play into a 55-yard touchdown pass, when he hit a wide open Frank Gore with 14:45 left in the half. Kaepernick rolled left and drew the Eagles' defense, it seemed, with him. Gore easily shrugged off Earl Wolff's attempt to tackle him like he was flicking leaves off his shoulders.
Right tackle Lane Johnson is due to return from his four-game suspension on Monday, which would move Todd Herremans back to right guard, still with Dennis Kelly at left guard and David Molk still spelling Jason Kelce at center.
"We called the game differently than we normally do," Kelly said, because of the reshuffled offensive line. "You have to run certain play, just because of who's in the game. We hope after the San Francisco game is that there's help on the way. I thought we good enough defensively, good enough on special teams, we just weren't good enough offensively."
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