CB Charvarius Ward Continues to Flash

The veteran cornerback is coming off a huge outing in Week 12 against the Seattle Seahawks in which he held star wide receiver D.K. Metcalf to just three catches for 32 yards, and he carried that momentum into Sunday’s contest. Ward broke up a pass intended for Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown in the end zone on third-and-seven. The 49ers CB1 forced Philadelphia to settle for the 26-yard field goal. Ward had another pass defensed in the end zone midway through the third quarter, batting down another touchdown reception intended for Brown. With four pass breakups on the day, Ward now leads the league in passes defensed with 19. 

The 49ers defensive line has averaged 5.0 sacks a game coming out of the Week 9 Bye, and they added a few more to the stat line against Philadelphia. Third-year pro Javon Kinlaw secured the first sack of the game by tripping up Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on second-and-six from San Francisco’s 14 yard line for a loss of 15 yards. The 49ers were able to hold them on third down, and similarly to first offensive series, prevented the Philadelphia touchdown. The Eagles went on to kick a 39-yard field goal to take the 6-0 lead with 2:01 left in the first quarter.

Following a three-and-out to open up the second quarter, the 49ers defense was able to stifle Philly’s next offensive possession as well. Defensive lineman Arik Armstead sacked Hurts for a loss of nine yards fon the first play of Eagles fourth offensive series. The takedown was Armstead’s sixth sack of the season. Kinlaw added one more sack before the end of the night, and so did rookie defensive lineman Kalia Davis in the fourth quarter.

“It was definitely an assignment-focused game,” defensive lineman Nick Bosa said. “We had to make Jalen focus on the run more than looking downfield, and we knew that was the key to the game. Our whole mentality was, ‘We’re not trying to set the record on sacks. We’re trying to close the pocket. We’re trying to get his eyes on us.’”

After two-straight three-and-outs, quarterback Brock Purdy and the 49ers offense found their flow on the third offensive series. San Francisco converted three third downs on the way to an 11-play, 85-yard touchdown scoring drive. The momentum-changing play of the drive came on a 32-yard pickup by tight end George Kittle to move the 49ers inside the red zone. Purdy capped off the drive with a shot wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk in the back of the end zone. The 49ers went to score touchdowns on the next five drives following Aiyuk’s touchdown catch. 

“Outside of those first two drives, that’s the 49ers football that we know, that’s the offense that we know,” Purdy said. “When everyone’s doing their part, everything’s clicking. We had some great play calls, everyone just makes plays and does it the right way. We protect the ball, and the defense does their job. That felt good.”

San Francisco’s wide receivers accounted for five of the 49ers touchdowns on the day. It was a three-touchdown outing for wideout Deebo Samuel who scored back-to-back in the third quarter and finished as the team’s reception yards leader. Samuel recorded four catches for 116 yards and a touchdown through the air in addition to three carries for 22 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The 49ers ‘wideback’ flexed his yards-after-catch abilities on his 48-yard touchdown reception, catching Purdy’s pass short of the third down and breaking two monster tackles on his way to the pay dirt.

“I didn’t put too much pressure on myself (to be the tone-setter). Kind going back and forth, at the end of the day, they beat us in the NFC Championshiop Game, and we wanted to get back,” Samuel said. “At the end of the day, it’s just football… we’re having fun. We just came out here and got a win.”

Aiyuk also had himself a day, snagging five catches for 46 yards and a touchdown. The fourth-year pro put San Francisco on the board in the second quarter to jumpstart the offensive unit. Jauan Jennings scored his first touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter to extend San Francisco’s lead to 35-13 with 10:43 left to play.

The NFL rushing yards leader had his 17-game touchdown streak snapped in Week 10 but was quick to begin building a new one. McCaffrey has now scored one-or-more touchdowns in each of the last three games with the most recent score coming in the second quarter of Sunday’s contest. The veteran running back sliced through the Eagles defense for the two-yard rushing touchdown to put San Francisco up 14-6 with 38 seconds left in the first half. With his 17 carries for 93 yards, McCaffrey became the 49ers first 1,000-yard rusher since Frank Gore 2014.