MMQB: 49ers defense just enough to beat Eagles 17-11
It wasn’t pretty. But a win is a win. In a game where I anticipated a defensive struggle in my 4th and Goal preview--that’s exactly what happened, as the San Francisco 49ers beat the Philadelphia Eagles 17-11.
The 49ers went into halftime with a 7-3 lead thanks to QB Jimmy Garoppolo connecting with WR Jauan Jennings for an 11-yard TD. The Niners drove 97 yards on 12 plays to end the half.
10 unanswered points
The 49ers slowly pulled away in the second-half--scoring 10 unanswered points:
QB Jimmy Garoppolo 1-yard TD QB sneak
K Robbie Gould 46-yard FG
The defense did their part by rattling Eagles QB Jalen Hurts--mainly thanks to third-year DE Nick Bosa. The 2019 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year--racked up 2.0 sacks while living in the backfield.
Hurts was unable to do any damage while looking lost at times. Hurts finished the game completing 12/23 for 190 yards. The 49ers defense was stingy and a big reason why they won.
The 49ers lost RB Raheem Mostert to a season-ending knee injury. The injury bug continues as the following players were banged up during today’s Eagles am game;
RB Trey Sermon (concussion)
RB JaMycal Hasty (ankle)
FB Kyle Juszczyk (lower body)
DE Kevin Givens (ankle)
Sermon now enters the concussion protocol. Both the 49ers and Ravens are RB depth depleted. Not good.
There’s not much to report on this game other than it was an ugly win. I would’ve liked to see Garoppolo target TE George Kittle more. He was only targeted four times in the game. Double-covered or not, Kittle needs to be force-fed the ball like how the Raiders have been using TE Darren Waller and Kansas City Chiefs using TE Travis Kelce.
Kittle finished with four catches for 17 receiving yards. WR Deebo Samuel continues to be a pleasant surprise. The Twitter 49ers fan base is switching mindsets from the ‘trade Deebo for Watson’ to ‘We love Deebo, we knew he could do it.’
Samuel finished with a team-high 6 catches for 93 receiving yards (15.5 avg.). Through two games--he has a team-high 15 catches for 282 receiving yards (18.8 avg.) and 1 TD.
Injured Reserve (IR)
OT Shon Coleman (tricep strain)
DT Maurice Hurst (high ankle sprain)
CB Davontae Harris (hamstring)
WR Jalen Hurd (ACL)
CB Jason Verrett (ACL)
RB Raheem Mostert (osteoarthritis/knee)
OLB Dre Greenlaw (groin)
2021 49ers | BEAST receipts
0-1 ATS (-3.5)
1-1 o/u
With the 49ers improving to 2-0, they will now face the rival Green Bay Packers under the lights on Sunday Night Football.
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