In Week 13, we discovered two things about every team: Deebo Samuel remains a threat and Jordan Love is starting to emerge.
The NFL playoff battles are becoming hotter as four teams are competing for the No. 5 seed in the AFC and the No. 6 place in the NFC.
While the Dallas Cowboys kept up their winning ways, the San Francisco 49ers came within one game of defeating the Philadelphia Eagles winning the NFC championship.
The 8-3 49ers were an unexpected road favorite going into their heavyweight matchup with the 10-1 Eagles on Sunday. The oddsmakers were knowledgeable about their subject. It turns out that this wagon was derailed only by injuries.
Ultimately, the much awaited battle fell short of being a contender for Game of the Year. With a 42-19 victory, the 49ers easily gained some much-needed retribution for losing the NFC championship game the previous year.
For the most part of the season, San Francisco has trounced opponents; the lone anomaly is a three-game losing run during which Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel both missed games.
The 49ers, playing at full strength, have defeated the Eagles, Cowboys, Jaguars, and Seahawks in landslide fashion.
The difficulty od stopping a team boasting overwhelming superstar skill and elite coaching was made clear by every one of those statement victories.
Kyle Shanahan’s manipulation of the second with third phases of the Eagles’ front paid off for Samuel, as the standout playmaker amassed 138 yards overall and three touchdowns on Sunday.
In spite of the third-best run defense in the NFL, San Francisco managed to contain their Philly pass rush and amass 146 running yards thanks in large part to Williams’ reliable presence up front.
Opponents facing a fully loaded 49ers team appear to have little chance of winning outside forcing a shootout. The issue is that San Francisco’s secondary is additionally overmatched.
The 49ers held the potent Eagles attack to their second-lowest point for the season in large part by controlling the run game while retaining Jalen Hurts inside the pocket.
The playoff races, even the teams who are dropping out of the running and focusing on 2024, were quite entertaining in week thirteen. We discovered the following from every one among the 26 teams who competed this week:
It makes sense that Jordan Love’s early-season fanfare was fleeting. Following a brilliant start, everything started to go south, with the Packers looking like they were going to the basement. It was reasonable to wonder if Green Bay would select a quarterback in the draft.
Then things took a turn for the worst. With three straight victories to put the Packers back in the running for the playoffs, Love was a whole different player in November.
But as it turned out, he had only begun to develop, as evidenced by an almost faultless performance in the Thanksgiving Day victory over the Lions, which was supposed to be the pinnacle of his development.
Just one week later, he already has a new hallmark moment after outperforming Patrick Mahomes of Sunday night. Love has always impressed with his arm talent and his athleticism when stretching plays.
Love completed 25 of 36 throws for 267 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions against Kansas City’s fourth-ranked defense.
Additionally, according to Next Gen Stats, he concluded the game thanks to a career-high plus-14.7 dropback EPA.
However, in comparison to the start of the season, the decision-making and overall comfort in one’s pocket are like night and day. It’s easy to see stylistically who he’s been studying under for the previous three years.
Not only are Philadelphia (10-1) and San Francisco (8-3) the two best football teams, but they are also the top two seeds in the NFC playoff picture.
And the goal of both elite teams is to rule the neighborhood as the bullies. Because of this, the match on Sunday in Lincoln Financial Field is an important matchup between two elite teams.
This developing rivalry between the players is full of back-and-forth banter, which heightens the intrigue.
On Wednesday, 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel fueled the flames even more by refusing to take back an off-season dig at Eagles cornerback James Bradberry.