By Brandon Simmons
What does 49ers-Eagles result say about each team?
The San Francisco 49ers beat the Philadelphia Eagles 42-19 in a rematch of last season’ NFC championship game. It was a physical game that even saw the Eagles’ head of security get ejected, but it seemed that the 49ers were dishing out most of the punishment. They held the Eagles to only 46 yards rushing while running up 3 sacks, 2 of them coming from defensive tackle Jevon Kinlaw. The Niners also won the battle on the ground rushing for 146 yards, with running back Christian McCaffrey holding 93 of those yards. Of course, this game could not be complete without Niners QB Brokc Purdy having his part in the game, throwing for 342 yards and 4 touchdowns. It would also be remiss to not mention Niners wide receiver Deebo Samuel getting 4 catches for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns.
With a performance like this, it raises some questions for both teams.
While the Eagles remain at the top of the NFC, it kinda makes you wonder if they are prepared to make a return trip to the Super Bowl. It’s a crazy notion to even think about but the inconsistency is there. While they have beaten the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs, they still lost to the New York Jets before losing to the San Francisco 49ers an even needing overtime to beat the Buffalo Bills . One common theme of losses and shortcomings is the lack of explosive plays. Eagles running back DeAndre Swift has his lowest yardage per carry number while Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has less than 7 yards per pass attempt. Philly has to find consistent ways to make big plays happen.
For the 49ers, there is a question of whether or not they can repeat the streak they out on last year and maintain it. Niners had a skid earlier in the season when they were missing their star wide receiver, Deebo Samuel. It affected them greatly as they hit a 3 game losing streak, scoring only 17 points in those contests. However, after their bye week, they have been on a tear winning 4 straight and scoring 30+ points in 3 of those games. What has also been significant, is the defense holding opponents to under 20 points in that same stretch. It helps when that unit has defensive end Nick Bosa then decides to add former Commanders defensive end Chase Young in a trade. The last few seasons, the 49ers have made some deep playoff runs but have ran into misfortune whether a missed pass or an injury. This year they look to really play through those obstacles and possibly hold the title at the end.
Philadelphia definitely got caught slipping in this but they still remain the top team in the NFC. Their resume this year proves they are no fluke. San Francisco is not a joke either, they just have not been as fortunate early on. The Niners proved Sunday that they could challenge the Eagles for homefield advantage in the playoffs. Not only that, San Fran showed the league that it’s almost that time of year again where they really shake things up.
Has Jordan Love solidified his future?
Green Bay Packers have finally given QB Jordan Love the reigns to the starting job this year and he has seen both ups and downs. The 4th year QB opened the season with a win over the Chicago Bears on the road but went 1-5 in his next 6 games. He then bounced back going 4-1 in his last games, which included wins over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving and the Kansas City Chiefs this past Sunday night. However, his numbers have been impressive with him being top 5 in both touchdown passes and yards per completion. If people want to drink the “Jordan Love is the next Aaron Rodgers” kool aid, there are numbers to support this. According to Sporting News, Love and Rodgers both have similar numbers through their first 11 games as starters in record (5-6) and passing yards (2,599).
Jordan Love has seemingly done a lot to prove he is the franchise QB, but if he really wants to put himself over the top, he’s going to have to do more than match numbers with Rodgers’ legacy. His number one wide receiver, Christian Watson, suffered a hamstring injury and if he doesn’t miss time, could be affected. Love is going to get an early lesson in working without a favorite target of his. On top of that, it would certainly help his cause if he got this team into the postseason. The Packers have a favorable schedule ahead of them, with enough winnable games that can keep them in the 7th spot or push them higher. Not only would this surpass Rodgers’ 6-10 record but it would show the Packer that they have a QB ready to win now and it’s time to invest more weapons in him.
Zach Wilson Has to Make a Choice
There was a rumor floating around that the New York Jets were going back to Zach Wilson as the QB for the rest of the year, but Wilson has been reluctant to the idea. Jets head coach Robert Saleh dispelled the rumor but Wilson should follow through on that and make it reality. The Jets have made it clear to Wilson that he is not in their future plans at all. He was benched last year, would’ve been on the bench this year if Aaron Rodgers was healthy and got benched for the Good Friday game. This isn’t even about seeing what they have in store for next season, because the Las Vegas Raiders did a similar thing last year with Derek Carr and people rooted for him to leave. This isn’t saying Wilson is the same as Carr, but at least go somewhere where you’re not being jerked around. At this point, Wilson may very well be on his way to career back up status, but if he truly feels he can compete for a starting QB, then he needs to find another team because the Jets have clearly made him disposable at this point. It would benefit both sides if they finally cut ties with each other.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Shaquille Leonard, who has found a new team with the Philadelphia Eagles. Leonard was waived by the Indianapolis Colts right before Thanksgiving. However, once he cleared waivers, he had visits with the Dallas Cowboys then the Eagles. Congrats to him for bouncing back so quick and making the Sunday night matchup between the 2 teams extra spicy, as if it needed it.
Shut out to the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers who put on a shut out. While the Chargers won the 6-0 matchup, running up 5 sacks in the process, they only produced 2 field goals. Maybe it’s because the narrative around both teams is their head coaches could be gone after the season, but it felt like an underwhelming result for both sides.
Week 14 is a little light on the headline matchups except for one game. The Philadelphia Eagles are traveling to Dallas, playing the Cowboys in a rematch of their Week 9 game. Philly won that game 28-23 on their home turf. Now the Cowboys will play host to an Eagles team coming off a loss to San Francisco while Dallas is coming off a win over the Seattle Seahawks. Both teams are going to be emotionally charged for this game. But until then…I’ll holla.