Two teams in the NFL entered Sunday's slate undefeated: the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams were favored by a full touchdown, and both teams came up short, suffering their first loss of the season.
The Eagles lost 20-14 on the road to the Jets, while a shanked field goal at the buzzer from rookie kicker Jake Moody would hand San Francisco the 19-17 loss in Cleveland to the Browns. Both teams find themselves 5-1 but which loss is more concerning? BK and I are in agreeance that the 49ers loss was more of a surprise, but the Eagles should be more concerned than San Fran. Here's why:
1) The Eagles Offense
The Eagles offense has been yet to "click" in my head. They have had some impressive offensive performances, no doubt about it. AJ Brown has finished with 100+ receiving yards in each of the last four games. D'Andre Swift has two 130+ rushing yard performances this season. The Eagles are averaging 25 PPG (top ten) and 395 yards per game (2nd). These are all positives, but the offense still seems a bit slow and hesitant, especially without Shane Steichen running the show at offensive coordinator. The Jets shut down Swift to just 18 yards on ten carries, and it exposed Jalen Hurts. 28/45, 280 passing yards, one touchdown, three interceptions. This was also against a banged up Jets secondary as starting corners Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed were both out with injuries. I still have faith in Hurts to lead this Eagles squad to the Super Bowl, but the NFC East favorites are missing a gear at this time.
2) 49ers Injuries
The 76er's lost two of their top playmakers in this matchup. WR Deebo Samuel was the first to fall with a shoulder injury after just eight snaps, and RB Christian McCaffrey followed later in the third quarter with an oblique injury. Deebo would stay sidelined the remainder of the game, and CMC would attempt to return to the game, but was back on the sideline a few plays later. This was the 49ers first regular season loss since week 7 last season, the first in a game that QB Brock Purdy started and finished, and their first of the year. With Kyle Shanahan as head coach and assuming Deebo and CMC's injuries aren't too dire, the 49ers will be fine.
BK and I dive into the NFL storylines from this weekend further in the podcast below...