The Eagles and 49ers Have Beef
Familiar foes throw hands in South Philly for Wild Card Weekend
Holding a grudge is one of Philadelphia’s great pastimes. It runs through every single red blood cell in the bleeding heart of every Philadelphian. Because we know that hating is a renewable energy. Hating inspired our Founding Fathers to do some founding. It powers our entire city, trickling down Broad Street with a ferocity that makes raising your middle finger to a Cowboys fan a chemical reaction that happens on a molecular level. Philadelphia holds grudges like air in our lungs. We’ll never let you forget when we beat you, and we’ll never forgive you for making us lose. No one likes us, we don’t care because Go Birds.
As Philadelphia football has reached its apex during the Nick Sirianni era, so have the San Francisco 49ers. Kyle Shanahan’s Niners have joined the Eagles as the only teams to appear in an NFC Championship in the past three seasons. They’re an offensive rocket ship. A team that’s turned the last pick in the 2022 draft into an All-Pro difference maker next to one of the greatest running backs of our generation. The Eagles and the 49ers have locked talons on the road to the Super Bowl, plummeting to the ground to see who will let go before they make impact. Shanahan’s high-flying offense has played foe to the Nick Sirianni Eagles for the past two seasons, with Philadelphia’s lone win being the most important: a 31-7 NFC Championship victory in 2022.
If the Kansas City Chiefs are Philadelphia’s “Ivan Drago,” then the 49ers are more of a “Clubber Lang.” They’re the Draco Malfoy to our Harry Potter. A rival also at the peak of their powers, who is meant to be reckoned with. This Sunday, the Eagles will host San Fran in South Philly for Wild Card Weekend. It’s a win-or-go-home game that both of these playoff-worn teams are familiar with. An electric Kyle Shanahan offense takes on the immovable force that is Vic Fangio’s defense. It’s a supernova taking on a black hole. On the other (less inspiring) side of the ball, a struggling and disjointed Eagles offense takes on a battered 49ers defense.
The Eagles are 3-2 against the Kyle Shanahan-led 49ers, yet QB1 in our hearts, Jalen Hurts, is only 1-2 against San Francisco in his career. And in another form of kismet, head coach Nick Sirianni is just 3 wins away from tying 49ers head coaching great George Seifert for the most wins in a head coach’s first five seasons.
But make no mistake, there’s still more beef than a Big Mac. So how did it all go down?
Deebo Versus Philadelphia
As philosophers and Atlanta rappers YoungbloodZ and Lil’ Jon said in their single Damn!, “Don’t start no shit, won’t be no shit.”
Two moments from the 2023 NFC Championship game served as the big bang of this beef. The first happened with 10:28 to go in the first quarter. On 4th and 3, Jalen Hurts took the snap and rolled to his left to evade pressure. Eyes fixed down the field, he floated a pass to DeVonta Smith, who reached his outstretched arm to the sky and made a one-handed catch over his defender to reel in the ball on his way to the ground. The replay contested that Smith may not have completed the act of the catch on his way to the ground, but referee Alan Eck (more on him later) and his crew maintained that it was a catch. The Eagles would go on to score the first touchdown of the day on a Miles Sanders touchdown run.
The second moment came with 7:00 left in the first quarter. On 2nd and 6, Eagles edge rusher and certified demon Haasan Reddick peeled around the right guard and met Brock in the backfield, hitting Purdy’s arm to force a fumble. The hit also tore Purdy’s UCL, taking him out for the remainder of the game. Forced to start backup journeyman (and man who led the Washington Commanders to a victory over the Eagles’ backups last week) Josh Johnson, San Francisco fell 31-7, and the Eagles marched on to the Super Bowl.
Also, Jonathan Gannon said this before the game, which is unrelated but was just kind of weird.
The ramifications of the NFC Championship game rippled throughout 2023. Many 49ers players thought DeVonta Smith’s catch and Brock Purdy’s injury contributed to an illegitimate Philadelphia win. “They didn’t see us at our best” was the argument, but also a fundamental truth of the realities of professional football.
But no one took issue with the win more publicly than Deebo Samuel. The flagbearer of the grudge. If this is truly a beef, then Deebo is the butcher. Samuel locked in on his one-man mission to talk shit on the Eagles. After the NFC Championship game, Deebo Samuel called then-Eagles cornerback James Bradberry “trash” in an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast. Following James Bradberry’s untimely pass interference penalty on the Chiefs’ last drive of Super Bowl LVII that served as the nail in the coffin for the Eagles, Samuel tweeted this to stoke the flames:
In an interview with Complex Magazine in the spring of 2023, Deebo said that the Eagles were his most hated team “100 %.”
“All the trash talk coming from the Eagles fanbase and the players, you just get tired of that…I ain’t going to keep going on about what could’ve happened and what would’ve happened, but yeah, it would’ve definitely been a different outcome. … We lost because we played with 10 people.”
The opportunity for revenge came in week 13 of the following season. San Francisco had a shot at redemption against the 10-1 Philadelphia Eagles. Leading up to the game, when asked about his comment about Bradberry earlier that year, Samuel responded, “I don’t regret nothing I said.” Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown then invited Eagles fans to troll Deebo Samuel. Bradberry had to respond to the unfortunate (yet hilarious) question about his thoughts on another man calling him trash.
That game was a dark day in Philadelphia sports. Deebo’s Revenge resulted in Shanahan’s 49ers completely dismantling the Birds to the tune of 42-19. Brock Purdy threw for 314 and two touchdowns against Sean Desai’s defense (I’m getting PTSD just writing this). Deebo beat up Philly with 119 yards and two touchdowns. The Niners had five straight touchdown drives spanning over 70 yards.
To make things weirder, San Francisco linebacker Dre Greenlaw threw a jab at Eagles Chief of Security/man who does everything without saying a word, Big Dom. Both Dom and Greenlaw were ejected for the scuffle. The Eagles crowd cheered as Dom left the field, the only thing they were cheering for all night.
After the game, the 49ers celebrated. San Fran left guard Trent Williams harkened back to the NFC Championship game, saying, “I had full confidence we’d have this kind of game from the jump. We’ve got a quarterback, so that made it easier this time.” The 49ers went on to make it to the Super Bowl that year before falling to a familiar foe, the Kansas City Chiefs.
To deepen the rivalry, following the Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl victory, Howie Roseman traded defensive end Bryce Huff to the 49ers. Huff was the Eagles’ crown jewel free agent signing in the 2024 offseason, but upon joining Philly, it was clear that he wasn’t a scheme fit. His playing time took a nosedive. Following the trade, Bryce said:
“There’s a plethora of things that went down. I don’t wanna get into specifics. Being in the league for five years, I kinda knew what it felt like to be in a good situation. ... I kind of knew where it was headed fairly early on into the season, probably even training camp if I’m being honest.”
Jordan Mailata added fuel to the fire this week, saying:
This Sunday serves as the first matchup between Philly and San Francisco since that fateful week 13 beatdown in 2023. For players, most of the young Eagles defense wasn’t on the team for that meltdown. Saquon Barkley was still carrying the rock in New York. And San Fran’s team has seen similar turnover in that timeframe. But for fans, revenge is on the mind. As for Alan Eck, the referee who called the NFC Championship game in 2022? He’ll be the referee for Sunday’s game as well, much to the chagrin of 49ers fans.
Vic Versus Shanahan
On top of the bad blood between these teams sits a less hostile matchup between the defining offensive and defensive coaches of the modern NFL. Offensive wunderkind meets the father of modern NFL defense. Two coaches with deep respect for one another. Shanahan has said of Fangio, “Vic schematically, he has always been the best to me.” Shanahan is 1-3 against Fangio in his career. The last time they faced each other was when Fangio was the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 2018, in which the Bears held Shanahan’s 49ers offense to 9 points. But a lot has changed in those 8 years.
The Philadelphia defense will face a 49ers offense that (outside of last week against Seattle) has been red hot. Since Brock Purdy returned in week 11, the 49ers are averaging 31 points per game. Purdy ranks 3rd in EPA/Play and 1st in Success Rate this season. Though the receiving core led by Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall is underwhelming, running back Christian McCaffrey is on track to have the third-best season of his illustrious career by yards and rushing touchdowns. This isn’t the same Shanahan offense Fangio faced with the Bears. Shanahan’s scheme will be a true test for the young Eagles defense (except for Quinyon Mitchell who covers receivers better than paint covers a house).
Fangio has his own ties to San Francisco, serving as defensive coordinator there under Jim Harbaugh for 4 seasons and a defense that included all-time stars like Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman. Uncle Vic looks back on that time fondly, saying “We had a lot of success there. Really enjoyed it out there. Met my partner out there that I’m still with…I enjoyed it out there, we had a lot of good players. Guys, I really enjoyed coaching.”
Hopefully, Vic looks back on this Sunday just as fondly.
Weakness Versus Weakness
The other side of the ball for both teams is a little less inspiring. It’s like both teams are bringing a banana to a gun fight.
Robert Saleh’s defense is an infirmary, depleted by a variety of injuries across the board. Star edge rusher Nick Bosa and all-universe linebacker Fred Warner went out for the season early in the year. Warner’s backup Tatum Bethune tore his groin last week against Seattle and is out for the playoff run. Rookie star edge rusher Mykell Williams also tore his ACL early in the season. Linebacker Dee Winters is dealing with an ankle injury.
On the season, the 49ers’ defense is ranked 25th by EPA/Play. They’re coming off a loss to the Seattle SuperDarnolds, where they allowed 171 yards rushing to Seattle running backs Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Their pass defense has been up-and-down.
But it’s unclear if a struggling Eagles offense can take advantage. With all the talent in the world, the Birds’ offense has been underwhelming under first-year coordinator and least popular person in Philadelphia, Kevin Patullo. Wide receiver A.J. Brown has come on late in the season since letting his frustrations be known and is top 5 in most receiving metrics since the middle of November. Running back Saquon Barkley has struggled to find running room, and Hurts’ consistency has waxed and waned. That being said, an injured 49ers linebacker core could mean a big day for the touchdown magnet, Dallas Goedert.
For whatever happens, Philadelphia always remembers. The collision course is set as it has been in the past 5 years. Only time will tell who will call whom “trash” on a podcast and start the whole thing over again.
Great read! As an NFL fan that has grown his knowledge base a lot over the past year but still has a lot to learn, this kind of context is great in helping me know what to expect from this weekend 🫡