San Francisco 49ers: 3 Takeaways vs. Eagles in Week 8

The San Francisco 49ers paid the price for offensive mistakes in their 33-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Here are our three takeaways.

The San Francisco 49ers have now made the worst start in franchise history after they dropped to 0-8 with a 33-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. However, the relatively emphatic scoreline does not reflect the full story. This was a 3-0 game in Philadelphia’s favor at the two-minute warning in the first half, but a pass interference penalty and an interception returned for a touchdown extended the lead to 17-0 at the half.

From there it was an uphill battle for the 49ers against arguably the best team in football, with a slew of injuries making their task that much harder.

But there were positives to take from this game, in which the Niners produced a much more respectable effort than in the 40-10 Week 7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, and here we look at three takeaways from the defeat.

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3. Miscues and penalties doom 49ers

With two minutes left in the second quarter, the 49ers were very much in the game against the Eagles. By the end of the quarter, the game was all but over. A huge pass interference penalty on Dontae Johnson in the endzone set up Zach Ertz for the Eagles’ first touchdown, before Jalen Mills picked off C.J. Beathard, who had already been intercepted once, and returned it for a touchdown on a day where the offense struggled mightily.

Eli Harold was later called for an unnecessary roughness penalty that enabled LeGarrette Blount to pad the scoreline. The 49ers committing mistakes such as these is something a young and injury-riddled team can ill-afford.

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2. Witherspoon and Douzable lead defensive rebound

A week after the Cowboys offense had their way with the 49ers, San Francisco’s defense rebounded with a strong effort on the road. The defensive front, manned by a number of recent free-agent additions in the form of Leger Douzable, Tony McDaniel and Datone Jones, got pressure on Carson Wentz on a consistent basis and did an impressive job shutting down the run game

Philadelphia averaged just 3.6 yards per carry and Wentz was sacked three times, with Douzable recording two of those in the first half.

Perhaps the star performer, though, was rookie cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon. The third-round pick started ahead of Rashard Robinson and registering his first career interception, which set up the sole 49ers touchdown of the game as Matt Breida found the end zone for the first time in his fledgling career.

Witherspoon was then beaten by Alshon Jeffery for a 59-yard touchdown, but that was one of just three catches he gave up on eight targets, per Pro Football Focus’ Refocused recap, in a very impressive showing. It may not show up on the scoreboard, but this is a defense that has made progress under Robert Saleh.

1. Injuries continue to decimate 49ers roster

The 49ers headed into this game without right tackle Trent Brown (concussion) and Reuben Foster (rib), the duo joining a lengthy injury list that includes former first-round pick Arik Armstead. And that list was extensively added to in Philadelphia as San Francisco’s roster was further decimated in a bruising encounter for the Niners at Lincoln Financial Field.

Per CSN Bay Area, First-round pick Solomon Thomas sustained what is believed to be an MCL sprain, defensive back Jimmie Ward broke his arm and left tackle Joe Staley suffered an orbital bone injury and was forced to stay behind in Philadelphia as examinations on the injury were not completed in time for him to make the flight home.

In addition to Staley, the 49ers also lost backup right tackle Garry Gilliam and promising defensive lineman D.J. Jones to knee injuries.

The loss of Staley and Gilliam made life extremely difficult on Beathard as the Niners were forced to reshuffle the deck on the offensive line against an extremely talented Eagles D-Line that hounded Beathard all day. The 49ers front office has done a good job of filling the void left by the many injuries on the defensive line with free agents who have been able to make a difference.

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However, they will likely have a much tougher task replacing Staley should he be out for a considerable period of time, and San Franciso’s rotten injury luck figures to have a significant impact on their hopes of ending the year with at least a few wins.