How Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey led 49ers to 42-19 rout over Eagles, close gap

April 17, 2024

The fire started burning midway through the third quarter, and the San Francisco 49ers would have to extinguish it before leaving town with their resounding 42-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

The 49ers had built a 21-6 lead at the time, but the advantage suddenly became tenuous. Two personal foul penalties against the 49ers, including one levied against linebacker Dre Greenlaw right before an altercation with Eagles head of security Dom DiSandro led to the ejection of both men from the game, put Philadelphia in scoring range.

The Eagles soon delivered with their signature “Brotherly Shove,” cutting the 49ers’ lead to eight points — 21-13 — just as emotion swelled at Lincoln Financial Field. The danger of the moment to the visiting team was palpable.

“This,” 49ers tight end George Kittle noted in the locker room afterward, “is a lethal stadium.”

As their lead wobbled, the 49ers fumed within its roaring walls. Linebacker Fred Warner frustratedly tried to knock the ball away from Jalen Hurts well after he’d scored on the quarterback sneak. Coach Kyle Shanahan, livid on the sideline for quite some time after the incident between Greenlaw and DiSandro, also had to strain to keep his composure.

“I tried my hardest not to lose my mind,” Shanahan said. “Hopefully, I didn’t embarrass myself too bad. I just can’t believe someone not involved in a football game can taunt our players like that and put hands in his face. It was a very frustrating play. But I loved how we rallied after it.”

How the 49ers responded did indeed end up being the central highlight of this reverberant victory.