Did 49ers expose Jalen Hurts, Eagles’ Achilles heel? How San Francisco flipped script with defensive game plan vs. Philly

PHILADELPHIA — The San Francisco 49ers pass rush had been on a roll.

Since Chase Young joined an already-deep group at the trade deadline, they’d sacked Trevor Lawrence five times, then Baker Mayfield four and finally Geno Smith six times in a span of just three weeks.

So Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, it seemed, would need to worry about their takedowns this week. That’s exactly what the 49ers wanted Hurts to think.

Because instead, San Francisco marched into Philadelphia with a game plan that intentionally did not promote sacks and pass rushing. It was a game plan that instead sought to contain Hurts in the pocket, to especially limit his ability to escape up the B-gap, and ultimately — by neutralizing Hurts’ run threat — to make the entire Eagles’ offense one-dimensional if executed properly.

“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,” 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa said. “It was definitely an assignment-focused game. We had to make Jalen focus on the rush more than looking downfield and we knew that was the key to the game.”

It might also be the Eagles’ coming opponents’ key to thwarting the franchise with the league’s best record if Philadelphia doesn’t regroup quickly. Because in a 42-19 dismantling, San Francisco exposed an offensive Achilles heel that few had managed to grasp.

“That was as grimy as it gets,” 49ers linebacker Fred Warner said. “I know it’s like we won 42-19, but in the beginning of the game, those crucial moments when we had to stand tall in the red zone … the game plan that we had, especially down there in the red zone, was on point.

“It was just about executing, making sure Jalen doesn’t beat us with his legs down there because they love to run him in those crucial moments.”

49ers held Eagles to lowest rushing output in Jalen Hurts era

The Eagles entered the game 10-1 in large part because…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/did-49ers-expose-jalen-hurts-eagles-achilles-heel-how-san-francisco-flipped-script-with-defensive-game-plan-vs-philly-031707313.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2023-12-05 03:17:07

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.