For four consecutive weeks, the Philadelphia Eagles almost magically transformed a halftime deficit into a come-from-behind victory.
At some point whatever mojo and their MVP candidate, quarterback Jalen Hurts, carried into the second half was bound to wear off. And that’s what happened Sunday in a 42-19 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers that failed to live up to the hype in every way except for the escalating bad blood between the NFC’s two best teams.
Only the 49ers (9-3) backed up the pre-game trash talk with execution on both sides of the ball. As for the Eagles (10-2), this was a thorough beatdown on their home turf.
They ran into a team motivated to prove last season’s NFC Championship Game outcome was a fluke without a healthy Brock Purdy for a complete game.
Related: Brock Purdy enters NFL MVP chat with statement performance for San Francisco 49ers
While the previous four opponents – Washington, Kansas City, Dallas, and Buffalo – were unable to put the Eagles away, the 49ers did much more than just prevent an Eagles comeback. The 49ers led 14-6 at halftime and then finished the Eagles in the second half like a delicious Philly cheese steak.
It couldn’t have gotten much worse for the Eagles than to have 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel, a Philadelphia nemesis all week with his trash talk, waving goodbye to the Eagles fans after his third touchdown of the game.
The Philadelphia Eagles finally ran into a bigger bully and got Brotherly Shoved.
Granted, the Philadelphia Eagles still own a one-game lead over San Francisco for the No. 1 seed with five games left to play. So, the loss wasn’t completely detrimental to the Eagles’ position.
It only loosened the Eagles’ grip on the top spot and cut the distance between the Eagles and the 49ers, as well as the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys.
But things don’t get much easier for the Philadelphia Eagles, whose gauntlet of a schedule (three games in 13 days) is catching up to them.
They now must travel to Dallas for a Sunday night battle against the Cowboys (9-3), who’s unbeaten at home and is out for payback after falling to Philadelphia, 28-23, in Week 9. All it would take is a loss to Dallas and a 49ers’ win over Seattle to relinquish the No. 1 spot to San Francisco.
Philadelphia Eagles couldn’t keep up the escape act
For weeks, the Philadelphia Eagles have leaned on their winning culture, on their ability to overcome any deficit. And they’ve been able to back up the talk by repelling defeat. And Hurts, who’s built an MVP case largely on his post-halftime surges and his team’s win percentage, continued to pile up clutch victories, even if his statistics didn’t match other quarterbacks.
Related: 49ers’ Dre Greenlaw ejected after getting into it with Eagles security official Dom DiSandro
But Sunday’s lopsided loss showed in an emphatic way how the Eagles should have been concerned long ago about their constant need for late-game escapes.
The Eagles haven’t beaten a team by more than a touchdown since Week 7 against Miami, and they have only beaten a team by double digits twice all season.
For Philadelphia Eagles, it’s not just about the win
Just winning isn’t always enough, even in the NFL, where any team can beat any other team on any given Sunday. Proof of that was Philadelphia’s previous loss before Sunday, a 20-14 defeat to the New York Jets. And nobody would consider the Jets to be even remotely close to the Eagles as a team.
Sometimes, the best teams need to punctuate their superiority with a blowout victory. It’s about statement wins. At least once or twice a season. Just go out and deliver a good, old-fashioned 30-point spanking to announce your presence as an elite NFL team with authority.
While nobody would question the Eagles’ standing as one of NFL’s best teams, blowing out opponents just doesn’t seem to be their style this season.
Maybe it should be. Because in front of their beloved fans Sunday, the Eagles just got blown out first.