Just Short

PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles, down 23-19, were unable to mount a comeback against the San Francisco 49ers in the waning moments, with Jalen Hurts’ fourth-down heave over the middle to tight end Dallas Goedert falling incomplete. The season ends in disappointment, but in the end, the team couldn’t ask for anything more — have a chance to go down the field and win the game.

GETTY IMAGES: Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts threw for 168 yards in a touchdown in the season-ending loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Hurts completed 20 of 35 pass attempts for 168 yards and a touchdown, while carrying five times for 14 yards. Running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 126 yards on 26 carries. Linebacker Zack Baun and DT Jordan Davis led the team with six tackles each.

Inactive for the Eagles were OLB Josh Uche, QB Sam Howell (3rd QB), CB Jakorian Bennett, RB A.J. Dillon, OL Brett Toth, RT Lane Johnson and DT Ty Robinson. It’s worth noting that McWilliams is up over Bennett for the first time this season.

On Saturday, the Eagles elevated LS Charley Hughlett and S Andre’ Sam from the practice squad. It’s important to note that while Sam exhausted his three regular season elevations, the elevations are limitless in the postseason.

Let’s get to the observations.

*The Eagles won the opening coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. In an ironic twist, considering much of the conversation this week centered around the 49ers’ lack of outside weapons, QB Brock Purdy connected with WR DeMarcus Robinson for 61 yards on the second play from scrimmage. Purdy would go back to the well four plays later, hitting Robinson for a 2-yard touchdown. Even stranger was that Purdy didn’t shy away from All-Pro cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.

*I thought the Eagles did a nice job setting the tone offensively on their opening drive, which covered 63 yards over 10 plays (5:35). The possession featured a heavy dose of Barkley, who churned out 45 yards on six carries, including a 29-yarder on a 2nd-and-8. The run formations were varied and the line generated consistent push up front. But perhaps most notably, it was the red zone creativity that stood out the most, withGoedert rushing it in from a yard out to answer the 49ers touchdown. Great design there from OC Kevin Patullo.

*The Eagles’ second quarter 11-play, 99-yard scoring drive was one of the better ones I can recall all season. Not only did the team cash-in on multiple fourth down opportunities — including the 8-yard touchdown toss to Goedert — butHurts got rid of the ball on-time and was decisive on the move. Barkley was heavily involved, he picked up 20 yards on a second-and-six screen, but the Eagles also worked in Tank Bigsby, who rolled up 20 yards on three carries and provided some juice.

*Very sporadic pass rush push for the Eagles — as Purdy had plenty of time to scan the field, work through progressions and deliver — but I thought Davis had a really productive outing as a run defender, bottling up 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey at the line of scrimmage on multiple occasions. With pressure minimal, I kept waiting to see if DC Vic Fangio would dial up a successful blitz with LB Nakobe Dean, who picked up four sacks in the regular season, but he was unable to get home.

*Philadelphia fans have a reputation for not pulling any punches and being tough on opposing players, so I found it notable when many in attendance supported 49ers TE George Kittle as he was being carted off, following a 6-yard reception in the second quarter. Classy move.

*The Eagles in the first half controlled the ball for 19:06 compared to 10:54 for the 49ers.

*While I didn’t take issue with a whole lot from an offensive playcalling perspective, there were times where I thought the Eagles were too bold on some short yardage situations, opting to chuck it deep to no success on a low-percentage pass play, rather than hand it off to Barkley, who’d been churning out productive runs. Speaking of runs, the Eagles were committed to running inside when the 49ers had done a nice job clogging things up from the interior. Sure, the Eagles don’t call a lot of outside runs — with the exception of Bigsby, who bounces most runs to the perimeter — but that’s where the 49ers were most vulnerable.

*Mitchell, recently named an AP All-Pro, has come up empty with interceptions in the regular season, though the postseason has been a different story. Mitchell added to his postseason interceptions total in the third quarter, snagging an erratic Purdy pass and returning field position to the offense at the Eagles’ 48. unfortunately, for the Eagles, nothing came of it, as the offense went backwards.

*Nice razzle dazzle trickery from the 49ers, with WR Jajuan Jennings tossing a touchdown to a wide-open McCaffrey streaking down the right sideline, silencing the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field. Looked like McCaffrey slipped past S Reed Blankenship.

*Whenever 49ers’ EDGE Bryce Huff’s name was announced via stadium PA following a tackle, it was met with a smattering of boos from the crowd.

— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com