49ers ride big plays in all phases to grind out 17-11 win over Eagles

The San Francisco 49ers fought off a slow start in Philadelphia on Sunday and delivered big plays on offense, defense and special teams at key times to come away with a hard-fought win over the Eagles, 17-11.

49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 189 yards and one touchdown on 22-of-30 passing while engineering two drives for more than 90 yards. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for 190 yards on 12-of-23 passing while also rushing for 80 yards and one touchdown.

First Half

The 49ers looked out of sync on offense early with two sloppy three-and-outs to start the game, while the Eagles got things moving on their second drive after punting on their first possession. An 11-play, 53-yard drive of short passes and runs on that second drive set up a 45-yard field goal attempt from kicker Jake Elliott, which he connected on to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The 49ers followed the field goal with their third three-and-out of the game, then the Eagles threatened to score again after advancing to the 49ers' 30-yard line to set up a 47-yard field goal attempt from Elliott. But the kick was blocked by defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, which gave the 49ers the ball at their own 37-yard line after a recovery by Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert.

Things finally got going for the 49ers offensively on the next possession as they moved the ball across midfield for the first time in the game, but their progress was stalled by a 15-yard penalty for an illegal crackback block on wide receiver Mohamed Sanu that left the 49ers with a 1st-and-25 from their own 44-yard line. The penalty was too much for the offense to overcome, but the eventual punt from Mitch Wishnowsky pinned the Eagles back at their own three-yard line with just over seven minutes remaining in the half.

The field position advantage lasted all of one play for the 49ers, as Hurts went deep to wide receiver Quez Watkins on first down for a 91-yard gain to the 49ers' six-yard line. A false start penalty on 1st-and-goal pushed the Eagles back to the 11-yard line, but a pass interference penalty on cornerback Josh Norman on second down gave the Eagles a 1st-and-goal at the 1.

Despite all that, the Eagles still managed to come up empty on the drive due to a goal line stand from the 49ers that forced a turnover on downs. An incomplete pass on 1st-and-goal was followed by a three-yard tackle-for-loss by linebacker Fred Warner on running back Miles Sanders, then a one-yard run from Hurts was followed by a trick play that saw Hurts the target of a pass attempt from wide receiver Greg Ward. The pass fell incomplete, giving the 49ers the ball on their own three-yard line.

The 49ers took over with 4:20 remaining in the half and managed to do what the Eagles couldn't on the previous possession by moving 97 yards in 12 plays to take a 7-3 lead on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Garoppolo to Jauan Jennings. The drive saw the 49ers move to around midfield over the course of the first ten plays, then after Garoppolo connected on a 40-yard completion to wide receiver Deebo Samuel with 25 seconds remaining in the second quarter, he found Jennings right before halftime for the score.

The catch was the first of Jennings' career and gave the 49ers an improbable lead at halftime after the Eagles felt in control for much of the first two quarters. The Eagles outgained the 49ers 203 to 64 before the touchdown drive that ended the half.

Second Half

The 49ers held the Eagles to a three-and-out to start the second half with the help of a strip sack from defensive end Nick Bosa, then put together a six-play drive that moved the ball to the Eagles' 49-yard line before being forced to punt. The punt from Wishnowsky gave the Eagles possession at their own 7-yard line.

The Eagles got their running game going on the next possession, moving the ball to the 49ers' 40-yard line with the help of a series of runs from Hurts and Sanders. But the 49ers' defense held again, forcing the Eagles to punt from the 40 then taking over at their own 9-yard line with five minutes left in the third quarter.

The 49ers responded with a lengthy, time-consuming drive that lasted 16 plays and took almost nine minutes off the clock. The drive consisted of just one play over 10 yards -- a 15-yard pass to Samuel, which was one of the drive's three third-down conversions -- and included a pass interference call on the Eagles in the end zone on a 3rd down that gave the 49ers a 1st-and-goal at the one-yard line. Garoppolo finished the drive with a one-yard run to give the 49ers a 14-3 lead with just under 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The success continued for the 49ers on the following possession as the defense forced the Eagles to punt after five plays with the help of a third-down sack from Bosa. The Eagles committed two significant penalties early in the next 49ers' drive when defensive end Derek Barnett was flagged for unnecessary roughness on a botched pitch to running back JaMycal Hasty that landed out of bounds, then an unnecessary roughness call on safety K'Von Wallace negated what would have been a fumble by rookie running back Trey Sermon and moved the ball into Eagles' territory. The 49ers finished the possession with a 46-yard field goal by Robbie Gould to extend their lead to 17-3.

The Eagles answered with their first touchdown drive of the game on a quick five-play, 75-yard possession that lasted all of 65 seconds. The pivotal play of the drive was a 27-yard run from Hurts that put the Eagles in the red zone after the officials added on a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness on 49ers safety Jimmie Ward, then Hurts ran into the end zone from one yard out two plays later for a touchdown. Running back Kenneth Gainwell then ran in a two-point conversion to trim the 49ers' lead to 17-11.

That was as close as the Eagles would get, however, as the 49ers were able to run out the clock from there. A second-down completion from Garoppolo to fullback Kyle Juszczyk and a third-down run from Garoppolo gave the 49ers a first down at the two-minute warning, and the Eagles were unable to stop the clock after having used all their time outs earlier in the half. Garoppolo took a knee the rest of the way to seal the win.

The 49ers move to 2-0 with the victory, while the Eagles fell to 1-1 on the year with the loss. The 49ers will be back in action next Sunday evening in their home opener against the Green Bay Packers.

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