The undermanned 49ers went to Philadelphia to open the playoffs and left with a victory, beating the Eagles 23-19 on Sunday evening at Lincoln Financial Field.
George Kittle was carted off in the second quarter with an Achilles injury suffered on his only reception of the game, but the 49ers scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to overcome yet another star going down.
Christian McCaffrey caught both of those scores, with the first coming from Jauan Jennings on a 29-yard reverse pass.
Brock Purdy was 18-of-31 for 262 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, but his final pass was a 4-yard score to McCaffrey to give the 49ers their final lead.
The Eagles drove deep into 49ers territory, but linebacker Eric Kendricks broke up Jalen Hurts’ pass for Dallas Goedert on fourth-and-11 to seal the win.
McCaffrey had six catches for 66 yards, adding to his 48 yards on 15 carries. Demarcus Robinson led the 49ers with 111 yards on six catches, including a 61-yarder to jumpstart the opening drive and a 2-yard touchdown to cap it.
Here’s what the Niners had to say after the win:
Kyle Shanahan
On Purdy’s rushing:
He was unbelievable today. The plan that he put together, keeping it somewhat simple but still challenging. Having new guys in there, you got to somewhat keep it simple. … It was a huge challenge and they
On what was in his mind on the trick play:
Lots of things in our minds, but you’re more hoping that it’ll work and it’ll be open.
On Ji’Ayir Brown’s hamstring injury:
The fact that he wasn’t able to come back, I’m sure he got it pretty good. I’m sure he’d be a long shot for next week but we’ll find out more on that tomorrow.
On Kittle’s injury:
The trainers knew before the cart came out, so they got word to me on the headset.
On Eric Kendricks:
I’ve gone against Eric so much in my life. I remember saying at the beginning of the week on Wednesday and to the whole team, I was like “Guys, I don’t really know Eric that well but I’ve been going against him on the silent tape forever and that’s why I feel like I do know him. And from going against him, I promise you guys, this guy’s going to be ready.”
On Garret Wallow:
Haven’t gone against Garret very much but since he got here and played on our team to start, he hopped in at linebacker last week. I don’t think they just stepped up and got through the game. I think they played at a high level.
On Purdy’s mobility:
When your rush isn’t good or the play’s not good, he always gives you some opportunities by extending stuff and being able to keep us out there. He didn’t get a lot of opportunities with his legs today, but when he did he was effective.
On Robert Saleh’s gameplan:
He was unbelievable today. The plan that he put together, keeping it somewhat simple but still challenging. Having new guys in there, you got to somewhat keep it simple. … It was a huge challenge and they
On Robert Saleh’s head coaching candidacy:
Regardless of what happened today or what happens next week, I know it’s a matter of time until Saleh’s a head coach again.
On facing the Seahawks:
I’m glad we get another shot. You know, they played us real well. Definitely beat us, but I know we can play better than that.
On how much he’d prefer to play Sunday over Saturday next week:
Very strongly. But yeah, I’m expecting it to be Saturday.
On the possibility of opening Fred Warner’s practice window this week:
Not very high.
On Trent Williams returning from his hamstring injury:
He told me on Sunday night there was no way he wouldn’t be playing this week. So I knew how his mindset was. I knew how he attacked everything, but it was Trent’s first hamstring injury, and it’s very rare that you can play on a hamstring like that in this amount of time.
On Brock responding after his two interceptions:
So impressed, because they were two mistakes he’d love to have back. But to play like he did on that last drive, especially after two throws like that, he was unbelievable. I mean, he kept letting her rip. The guys was not scared to fail at all, which he can’t be to make some of those plays.
On what this win says about the team:
They’ve been resilient all year. They’ve overcome a lot. They believe in each other a ton and we knew we couldn’t come in here and just win by certain guys making plays. We knew we had to come in here and win as a complete team. And I really believe we played as a complete team today, and that’s why we got it done.
Brock Purdy
On the team win:
It was not an easy task. Obviously it’s the NFL so it never is. Just for us to come in here and do whatever it takes, man. Wish we could play a little bit better in certain areas and certain situations, but at the end of the day, it’s a fourth-quarter game and you got to go score for the season and for your team.
And then obviously for the defense to go down and get a stop like that was huge. So it’s a team effort, it really is. It’s just cool for everybody across the board to be able to have this kind of win and celebrate together with all the stuff that we’ve been through.
On his mentality:
There’s been times in my career and growing up, there’s moments where it’s like you got to go win it here. And in that moment, you can start thinking to yourself, all the worst possible scenarios. And so just learning from those kind of things. And then, when there’s a moment like this, there’s a moment right there for you to go take, so being aggressive but being smart.
On Jennings’ pass to McCaffrey:
I was on the edge, sort of blocking, sort of not in the play. And then I look back, I see JJ get hit and I was like, ‘Dang, dude. Should I have done something about that?’ And then I look up and the ball is in the air and Christian tracked it. It was wobbling in the wind and the fact that Christian caught it over his shoulder, dude, I was like ‘Oh my gosh.’ And I look back to JJ, I was like ‘You all right?’ and then celebrated.
JJ, he’s a baller when it comes to that. He did the same thing in the Super Bowl — took a hit, threw it to Christian on a trick play for a touchdown.
On talking to Jennings before his pass:
Obviously if it’s there, sweet, let’s capitalize. But also telling JJ, ‘Hey dude, if it’s not there, throw it away.’
Christian McCaffrey
On what he was thinking before the trick play:
Just executing, man. We had some time to think about it. Jauan threw a great ball and it worked out great. It was a great time to call that play, too, so it’s awesome.
On this team versus former 49ers teams:
I don’t know that they’re different. I do know that this team fights, man. I think this team is never out of the fight. We can have a lot of stuff happen to us throughout the year, some unfortunate things happen to us, but we don’t blink. And I think we’re consistent every day.
On Kittle:
This team has carried the character of George Kittle throughout the entire year and since I got traded here, he’s the heart and soul of this team, so it’s a tough loss when he’snot playing. It means a lot but he’s somebody that, even going through something that he had to go through and us finding a way ti finish, he’s the first guy in the locker room, smiling, bumping music, happy for his teammates. And when you lose a leader like that, you never really lose him because his presence is still in the locker room, his energy is still here.
On what makes this team
A team that shows up every day with the correct mentality, works really hard, doesn’t make excuses, owns up to mistakes and continues to get better. I think it’s a locker room that has a lot of love for football and a lot of love for each other.
On Jennings’ pass to him:
Normally you don’t think a lot during the play, but I had a lot of time to think.
On his touchdown catch from Purdy:
We ran that play all week and Brock did a hell of a job going through all his progressions and finding me late … those are always a little bit tough because you go t to win within the timing of the play.
Jauan Jennings
On his touchdown pass:
I was just thinking get the ball, execute, tuck the ball away, make the defense think I’m running it and saw Christian get open and make the right pass.
On how his touchdown pass felt:
After I heard the screams, I’m just like ‘Yeah, CMC had to make a great catch,’ because coming off my hand, I definitely thought I threw it a little bit too far.
On the roughing-the-passer call on his touchdown throw:
That’s the and-1.
On Demarcus Robinson’s game:
He works his tail off each and every week and for him to get that opportunity and seize it, it was huge. He’s been wanting that. So for him to get it, we all want it.
On coming in cold to throw a pass:
I think it’s just mentality more than anything. You just got to believe in yourself.
On what makes this 49ers team different from past iterations:
Just the grit. Not knowing the unexpected but still coming through.
On playing Seattle after losing to them last week:
(Shouts) Can’t wait!!!
Eric Kendricks
On the win and his pairing with fellow reserve Garret Wallow:
I hadn’t won in Philly for a while, so it feels good for the soul, under the circumstances. … Got to give a shoutout to Garret Wallow. He was excellent in communication. I always judge other linebackers based on when thing sare super thick, you know, and when things aren’t going our way, how well you’re able to communicate and how well you’re able to stay calm. He checked those boxes.
On working with defensive quality control coach KJ Wright:
I’ve been kind of just knocking on his meeting door, getting extra time with him since I got here. Whether it’s super early in the morning or after meetings, I feel like he’s got me prepared. We went through a bunch of situations, watched a bunch of film together.
On what makes Robert Saleh a good coordinator:
I feel like it’s the trust he has in his players, and the emphasis on playing fast and physical. The offense’s job is to try to scheme us up on defense. So by playing fast and physical, you can kind of eliminate some of the schematics of the offense and just kind of make plays.
On his last pass breakup:
As soon as I started dropping and I saw Saquon kind of go across to protect, I knew I had to get to the other hash kind of quick. I wish I would have picked it off. I should have picked it off. I usually do that.
On joining the 49ers:
I’m just so blown away with the leadership on this team. Guys like Brock Purdy — just exactly what you see is exactly what you get in the building. These guys are true professionals, the best of the best of the best. They do it the right way. They hold each other accountable. They show up with a great attitude. They work through injuries, they work through turmoil and adversity, and I’m just blessed to be in the position I’m in.
On whether this is the most unlikely playoff team he’s been on:
I would say it’s unlikely because I was not on a team for so long, so a little bit unlikely. From the outside looking in, I think it may look super unlikely, but being in the building for the last month and some change now, it’s not a question by me of why we’re in the situation we’re in. I believe in this team.
The Mercury News
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