Ever since their play-off game in January against the Philadelphia Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers have been waiting to play them again. After the Eagles’ Haason Reddick sacked the 49ers’ Brock Purdy, leaving him with a severely injured elbow and an inability to play for the rest of the game, the Eagles went on to win their game 31-7. The fight that broke out in the fourth quarter of the game raised the tension levels even further, with offensive tackle Trent Williams of the 49ers throwing safety K’von Wallace of the Eagles to the ground.
Trash talk on and off the field has continued since their last game. Over the off-season, wide receiver Deebo Samuel called the Eagles Cornerback James Bradberry “trash”. Deebo was asked if he regretted what he said about him in an interview, and replied with, “I don’t regret [any]thing I said.”
A couple of days before the game on December 3rd, Haason Reddick of the Eagles said, “It was a lot of boo hoos last year, a lot of crying, a lot of what ifs, a lot of this, a lot of that. They get a chance to come back in here line that [stuff] up and prove it again.”
Deebo was asked if the Eagles were the most hated team in the league, and he responded with, “100%.” The back and forth between the two teams has led to a clear and competitive rivalry.
The rivalry, however, is not only between the teams but also their fans. Arguments about who would win if the 49ers had a healthy team, and Eagles fans making comments about 49ers fans still whining about losing last year have accumulated. 49ers fans even claim the Eagles are “frauds”. It’s clear that not only did the fans feel like they were robbed of a Super Bowl win; but so did the players themselves. According to Chris Bumbaca, writer and reporter with USA Today, “One Niners player anonymously told the San Francisco Chronicle, ‘It felt like once Purdy got hurt, someone at the league called down and said, ‘Make sure the Eagles get the to Super Bowl, and not the [Niners].“
The game on Sunday, December 3rd, was a highly anticipated game, with both sides waiting to play it out to see who came out on top. Any remarks about Brock Purdy being a bad quarterback have been hushed, with the 49ers being first in their division, first overall in the NFC, and fourth in the entire league. The Eagles are also undoubtedly having a great season, winning 10 of their 13 games at that point in the season.
However many comments, claims, and speculation about the teams have risen, with only one thing deciding who was the best: The game on that Sunday. With Brock Purdy healthy again, and motivation from their fans, December 3rd was a different story than the last time the 49ers played the Eagles.
The 49ers crushed the Eagles, with a score of 42-19. Cameras panned to the faces of shocked Eagles fans who sat in disbelief after the Niners scored touchdown after touchdown. Brock Purdy passed for four touchdowns, Deebo Samuel received the ball for 2 touchdowns, and Christian McCaffrey ran the ball in for 1 touchdown. The 49ers have shown massive improvement from their last match-off with the Eagles, and they’ve also shown that the Eagles can’t trash-talk their way to a win.
Fast forward to the playoffs, and the 49ers are the first seed. Going into the second round, the Eagles have already been knocked out of play in the wild card round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It looks like Haason Reddick might be eating his words right about now.
