No Purdy is a big, big problem.
The 49ers defense took the field to start the game, and it was a scary sight two plays in as Fred Warner went down on the field. What felt like doomsday only resulted in Warner missing two plays.
But the bad news didn’t stop there, as San Francisco failed to get off the field on 3rd & 8 after Jalen Hurts found A.J. Brown over the middle on a pass over the outstretched arms of Warner.
After forcing a 4th & 3, Hurts had to scramble, and found DeVonta Smith, who made a miraculous catch.
Philadelphia went fast enough where Kyle Shanahan couldn’t challenge, and Miles Sanders scored from six yards out to give the Eagles an early 7-0 lead.
The 49ers picked up a pair of first downs and made it to midfield, but Philadelphia forced a sack-fumble on Brock Purdy, thanks to Haason Reddick. That was Purdy’s first fumble of his young career. Obviously, it wasn’t fully on the rookie, but it was a costly turnover.
That gave Philly a short field, which meant the Niners defense would have to once again bow up. They wasted little to no time forcing a punt.
Purdy did not come back in on the next series after an apparent elbow injury. That meant it was Josh Johnson time. The 49ers lost yardage and were forced to punt.
The 49ers defense held strong for another series. The Eagles started 1-for-4 on third downs. Unfortunately, with a fourth-string quarterback, they’d need to play near flawless football.