Last year was filled with boo hoos, crying, wondering what may have been, and a lot of this and a lot of that. They have another opportunity to return here, line that s*** up, and demonstrate it.”
Haason Reddick, a pass rusher for the Philadelphia Eagles, expressed his excitement this week about the San Francisco 49ers’ Sunday visit to Lincoln Financial Field, which marks the beginning of a heated new NFC rivalry.
Given how the Eagles had eliminated the Niners from the playoffs the previous year, it was understandable that they were unhappy.Reddick sacked San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy after just four passes (four completions), forcing a turnover and hurting Purdy’s elbow so badly that he was unable to throw the ball.
Afterwards, backup quarterback Josh Johnson also left the game due to a concussion, turning the 49ers’ usually thrilling offense into a complete mess.
After the game that destroyed the Niners’ chances of winning the Super Bowl, wide receiver Deebo Samuel said, “We lost because we played with 10 people.” Later that summer, he went on record as calling Eagles defender James Bradberry “trash.”
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk countered, saying, “We have the best football team in the league, hands down.”Ahead of one of the most thrilling games of the year, those remarks have stuck in the minds of players, coaches, and supporters.
Aiyuk was alluding to the 49ers’ path to the championship game in the aforementioned comment. They had a 12-game winning run going. They led the league in both defensive and offensive yards and points scored categories, while finishing sixth in both.
Then, without much of a fight, or at least a chance for one, the season ended.
It’s almost the ‘business end’ of the regular season; is San Francisco back in the saddle?The Niners of this year may be even better than last, based only on the numbers. offensively, third in yards and fourth in points per game. On defense, they are fifth in yards and first in points allowed per game (15.5 vs. 16.3 previous season).
Still the main attraction, Christian McCaffrey leads the league in rushing yards with 939, more than 150 more than Raheem Mostert, who is in second place. Tyreek Hill is only ahead of McCaffrey with 1,328 yards from scrimmage, and he leads all players with 16 touchdowns overall.
