What we learned as 49ers exact revenge in dazzling win over Eagles

BOX SCORE PHILADELPHIA — Rematch, anyone? It does not seem as if the 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles have been rivals very long, but the bad blood is real. After a slow start, the 49ers simply overpowered the Eagles in a 42-19 victory to pull within one game of the top spot in the NFC playoff picture. These teams could be heading for a game in late January with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line — just like a year ago. The Eagles, playing their third game in 13 days, fall to 10-2 on the season, while the 49ers won their fourth straight to improve to 9-3. Now, the 49ers own the tie-breaker edge on the Eagles — if it should come to that. Quarterback Brock Purdy strengthened his candidacy for NFL MVP, as he outplayed Jalen Hurts, who entered the week as the front-runner for the award. Purdy completed 19 of 27 pass attempts for 314 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Hurts exited the game near the end of the third quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. He completed 26 of 45 pass attempts for 298 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. As expected, the game Sunday was a little chippy. And things escalated to a whole new level with a wild sequence of events in the third quarter. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw had Eagles linebacker DeVonta Smith wrapped up at the sideline after he caught a 13-yard pass. Greenlaw then performed a suplex on Smith — in front of Eagles chief security officer Dom DiSandro — to draw a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. DiSandro moved closer to Greenlaw and had some choice words for him. Greenlaw responded with what appeared to be a jab to DiSandro's face. Greenlaw was ejected from the game, and officials enforced the removal of DiSandro from the Eagles' sideline. Here are the top takeaways from the Week 13 game: Samuel backs up his words With Ray-Ray McCloud inactive due to a rib injury, wide receiver Deebo Samuel replaced him on kickoff returns. That's how important this game was for Samuel and the 49ers. Samuel spoke out after the 49ers' loss in last season's NFC Championship Game, referring to Eagles cornerback James Bradberry as "trash." He and Brandon Aiyuk did not give the Eagles any credit for their head-to-head victory last January due to Purdy's elbow injury. The actions of Samuel and Aiyuk spoke loudly in the rematch. Samuel gave the 49ers some breathing room to cap the first drive of the third quarter when he took a pitch from Purdy and made a sprint around the right end for a 12-yard touchdown run. He and Aiyuk were the most outspoken after the 49ers' loss to the Eagles last season. Those two did their fair share to provide the 49ers with a boost in the third quarter. After the Eagles pulled within 28-13 in the third quarter, Aiyuk caught a 10-yard pass from Purdy on a third-and-7 situation. Two plays later, Purdy hit Samuel in stride on a crossing route. Samuel broke a tackle attempt of Morrow, turned up field and carried cornerback Darius Slay into the end zone to complete a 48-yard scoring play for a 28-13 lead. Red-zone defense steps up when needed Through the first two possessions of the game, the Eagles dominated the 49ers everywhere except the scoreboard. The Eagles rolled up 120 yards and seven first downs. But the 49ers came up with some big defensive stops to keep the damage to a minimum. Philadelphia kicker Jake Elliott made field goals of 26 and 39 yards for a 6-0 lead. San Francisco got a big play from cornerback Charvarius Ward to break up Jalen Hurts' pass intended for A.J. Brown in the end zone to end their Eagles' game-opening drive. On the Eagles' second possession, the 49ers' coverage bought enough time for Javon Kinlaw to register a 15-yard sack when Hurts slipped. The 49ers put together a strong defensive effort against one of the league's most high-powered offenses. One of the keys to the 49ers' defense was their ability to put the clamps on Eagles running back D'Andre Swift, who managed just 13 yards rushing on six carries. McCaffrey joins rare company Christian McCaffrey did not touch the ball on the 49ers' first two possessions of the game. He made up for it as the game went on and the 49ers piled up the first downs. McCaffrey ended up with 93 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts. He also caught three passes for 40 yards. McCaffrey's second-quarter touchdown was the 12th rushing score of the season and his 50 career touchdowns on the ground. He joined Hall of Famers Lenny Moore and Marshall Faulk as the only players in NFL history with at least 50 rushing touchdowns and 25 receiving. Faulk had 100 touchdowns rushing and 36 receiving, while Moore had 63 touchdowns on the ground and 48 receiving. McCaffrey has 27 receiving touchdowns in his seven-year career. McCaffrey has five touchdown catches this season. The All-Pro's receiving skills showed up at an opportune time for the 49ers in the third quarter. On a third-and-3 situation, Purdy found McCaffrey singled up against the coverage of Eagles linebacker Nicholas Morrow. McCaffrey had several steps on Morrow and made the over-the-shoulder catch for a 33-yard gain to set up Samuel's first touchdown of the third quarter.

What we learned as 49ers exact revenge in dazzling win over Eagles

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