49ers defense stymies Eagles to hand them 1st loss
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Santa Clara, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The San Francisco 49ers got back to their hard-nosed ways and figured out their second-half woes.
The 49ers stymied Philadelphia's potent offensive attack and had a late goal- line stand, holding off the Eagles 26-21 to hand them their first loss of the season on Sunday.
The Eagles (3-1), who had picked up just five first downs prior to their second-to-last offensive drive, moved the chains six times on that march and crossed midfield for the first time at the 4:57 mark of the fourth.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jeremy Maclin made a one-handed 22-yard catch on 3rd-and-14 to put the ball at the 17-yard line. Foles then rolled right and hit Jordan Matthews, who came back to the ball for a gain of 11 yards.
LeSean McCoy dashed for five yards off left tackle on 2nd-and-goal to set the ball up at the 1-yard line, but Nick Foles tossed consecutive incompletions and Philadelphia turned the ball over on downs.
The Eagles tallied 90 of their 213 total yards on the drive.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Philadelphia forced a three-and-out to get the ball back, but Perrish Cox intercepted Foles on 4th-and-24 to seal the outcome for the 49ers (2-2) and give head coach Jim Harbaugh a victory over former Pac-10 foe Chip Kelly.
The Eagles had outscored their first three opponents 74-24 in the second half, while San Francisco had been trounced 52-3 after intermission, but the 49ers outscored Philly 13-0 over the final 30 minutes in this one.
San Francisco had the ball for 42:17 of the 60 minutes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Frank Gore carried the ball 24 times for 119 yards and had a career-long 55- yard touchdown catch for the 49ers, who avoided a three-game losing streak.
Colin Kaepernick was 17-of-30 for 218 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the triumph.
Foles completed just 21-of-43 passes for 195 yards with two interceptions and McCoy struggled to find holes behind Philadelphia's makeshift offensive line, running for just 17 yards on 10 carries.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Eagles posted three non-offensive scores in the first half. Darren Sproles returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown, Malcom Jenkins ran back an interception 53 yards for a score and Brad Smith recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown.
Philadelphia led 21-13 at the break, but Antoine Bethea forced a Zach Ertz fumble along the sideline on the Eagles' opening second-half series and Cox was able to establish possession prior to going out of bounds.
The 49ers capitalized on the miscue, with Stevie Johnson tip-toeing and keeping both feet inbounds inside the left pylon for a 12-yard score and get San Francisco within 21-20.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Philadelphia went three-and-out on its next touch and Phil Dawson nailed a 46- yard field goal to put the 49ers in front, 23-21, with 3:33 left in the third.
Dawson added a 31-yard field goal to extend the San Francisco margin to 26-21 with 6:35 remaining.
Earlier, the 49ers, who were the only team coming in with a touchdown on each of their first three opening drives, went three-and-out on their initial touch.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Connor Barwin shot right past left guard Alex Boone and Trent Cole came around the edge to sack Kaepernick on a 3rd-and-12 for a 13-yard loss to put the ball at the 2-yard line. Trey Burton then blocked the ensuing punt and Smith made the recovery in the end zone for a touchdown.
The 49ers answered with a 29-yard Dawson field goal to conclude a 14-play, 69- yard sequence.
Gore's touchdown reception came on a 2nd-and-17 on the first play of the second. Kaepernick scrambled to his left to avoid pressure and flicked a pass back across his body to a wide-open Gore, who stiff-armed Eagles safety Earl Wolff prior to crossing the goal line.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Philly was unable to get a first down, but Jenkins picked off Kaepernick and ran it back the other way three plays into San Francisco's next touch after Kaepernick tried to fit a pass to Brandon Lloyd running a slant.
Sproles scampered down the right sideline for his career-best 82-yard punt return for a score to stake the Eagles to a 21-10 cushion at the 8:49 mark of the second.
Dawson split the uprights from 51 yards out with 59 seconds left in the half.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
The 49ers were 8-of-19 on third down, while the Eagles finished 5-of-13 ... San Francisco outgained Philadelphia 232-73 in the first half ... Maclin caught five passes for 68 yards ... 49ers right tackle Anthony Davis made his season debut, but left late in the first quarter with a left knee injury ... San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis departed with a back injury early in the third frame.