PHILADELPHIA -- The San Francisco 49ers talked the talk all offseason and backed it up with a convincing 42-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Deebo Samuel -- the leader of the trash-talking brigade -- scored three touchdowns in the blowout victory, two receiving and one rushing to go along with 138 yards from scrimmage.
Samuel touched the ball just seven times in the victory (19.7 yards per touch), three of which ended up in the end zone. He broke the game open with a 48-yard touchdown reception from Brock Purdy in the third quarter to give San Francisco a 28-13 lead, a play in which Samuel shrugged off Nicholas Morrow and went all the way for the score. That was the second of his two touchdowns in the third quarter, the first a 12-yard rushing score to put San Francisco up 21-6.
The 49ers scored touchdowns on six consecutive drives, the longest streak for any team this season. They had -6 yards after the first two drives, then ran 47 plays for 452 yards -- an average of 9.6 yards per play. Brock Purdy threw four touchdown passes in the win, the final one to Samuel for 46 yards to put the exclamation point on a convincing victory.
The Eagles trailed at halftime and by double digits for the fifth consecutive game, but couldn't overcome the deficit in this one. Jalen Hurts ended up leaving the game late in the third quarter after being evaluated for a concussion. Hurts would eventually return, throwing a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith with 5:33 remaining in the game to cut the deficit to 35-19 (the two-point conversion failed).
Samuel scored three touchdowns in a game for the first time this season. He led the 49ers with 116 receiving yards while Purdy finished 17 of 27 for 314 yards with four touchdowns and a 148.8 passer rating.
All the real-time analysis and updates from Lincoln Financial Field from this showdown can be found in the live blog below. Here are some takeaways from the matchup:
Why the 49ers won
San Francisco was just dominant on both sides of the ball. Purdy threw for four touchdowns -- two were caught by Samuel -- as the 49ers averaged 11.2 yards after the catch. San Francisco took advantage of Philadelphia's missed tackles and scored touchdowns on six consecutive possessions to run away with the win. The 49ers offensive line deserves credit, too, allowing just two sacks, three quarterback hits and four pressures total. The 49ers controlled the trenches, allowing Purdy to set up play action and beat the Eagles downfield. They simply outclassed the Eagles.
Why the Eagles lost
Philadelphia had an opportunity to control the early part of the game, but settled for two field goals inside the red zone that kept the lead at 6-0. Going up two touchdowns against a team that doesn't trail by double-digits much would have been massive, especially a team as talented as the 49ers. The Eagles allowed the 49ers to hang around and paid dearly, as the 49ers scored touchdowns on six consecutive drives to tun the NFC Championship Game rematch into a rout. Philadelphia punted on three of its next four possessions after opening with consecutive field goals, which led to it trailing 28-13 late in the third quarter. This was a game the Eagles weren't coming back from.
Turning point
On the opening drive of the third quarter, the 49ers faced a third-and-3 from the Eagles' 45-yard line. Purdy found Christian McCaffrey for 33 yards on a wheel route that set San Francisco up for a first-and-10 at the Philadelphia 12. On the next play, Samuel scored on a touchdown run to put San Francisco up 21-6 -- scoring a touchdown right out of the half and putting the Eagles in a 15-point hole.
If the Eagles contained McCaffrey on the third-and-3 and forced San Francisco to punt, perhaps Philadelphia would have made another second-half comeback -- or at least had a better opportunity.
Play of the game
Samuel scored a 48-yard touchdown on a short pass up the middle to put San Francisco up 28-13 late in the third quarter, taking full advantage of a Morrow missed tackle and outrunning multiple defenders for the score.
George Kittle's block on James Bradberry sealed the lane for Samuel to sprint his way into the end zone, the second of three consecutive touchdowns he scored when having the ball.
The quote
"Performances like that don't surprise me. ... I think it's safe to say his actions spoke louder than his words." -- 49ers linebacker Fred Warner on Samuel's performance. Samuel backed up his talk with 138 yards from scrimmage, three touchdowns and 19.7 yards per touch.
Up next
The 49ers (9-3) host the Seattle Seahawks in Week 14 while the Eagles (10-2) play the Cowboys for first place in the NFC East on "Sunday Night Football."