It was obvious how much the San Francisco 49ers wanted this game, how much the scars from that afternoon last January were burned into their minds, a chance at a Super Bowl berth at the moment their starting quarterback lost 22 snaps after the game started, effectively lost.
49ers star receiver Deebo Samuel didn’t hide from it during the offseason, admitting what a handful of his teammates were surely thinking: With no healthy quarterbacks, the 49ers played in the NFC Championship game against the Eagles in Philadelphia last year practically down a man.
In other words, they never got a fair chance. That made the 31-7 loss harder to digest.
Eleven months later, the 49ers returned to Lincoln Financial Field and defeated the reigning conference champions 42-19, further clouding the NFC playoff picture while reminding the rest of the league how daunting a team centered around Kyle Shanahan can be can when it is at its best.
“All games are the same, but we understand how good this team is,” Shanahan said after the win, referring to the Eagles. “We understand their balance sheet and that always makes them a little bigger.”
So that was the statement. The 49ers will have a tough time in January. Or February.
With the win, the 49ers were now 9-3, just one game ahead of the conference-leading Eagles (10-2) and had five games left to play. Both the Cowboys and Lions are also 9-3, setting up a four-team race for the conference’s top spot and the only deficit.
GO DEEPER
NFL playoff picture: Can the 49ers overtake the Eagles and secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC?
In New Orleans, the Lions were up 21-0 before the end of the first quarter and almost lost the lead in the second half. In the end, Detroit beat the Saints 33-28 and remained in clear command of the NFC North and on the way to the franchise’s first home playoff game since 1994.
But don’t count the Packers out just yet. With a 6-6 record, Matt LeFleur’s team is one of the hottest in football and is currently in seventh place in the NFC playoff standings.
The 6-6 Falcons continue to lead the uber-victorious NFC South after an unconvincing 13-8 win over the Jets. But the Bucs and Saints (both 5-7) are somehow not out of there yet.
As for the AFC, Patrick Mahomes played his first game at Lambeau Field on Sunday night and was eliminated in a 27-19 loss that knocked the Chiefs out of the top group.
Both the Texans and Colts kept their wild card playoff hopes alive with last-second wins.
In Washington, Dolphins fullback Tyreek Hill remained en route to history as Miami embarrassed the reeling Commanders 45-15.
In Pittsburgh, Mike Tomlin summed up his team’s afternoon with indignation: “It was a terrible day at the office.” The Steelers coach saw nothing he liked in the humiliating 24-10 loss to the struggling Cardinals. Making matters worse, Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback, left at halftime with an ankle injury and could be out for several weeks, further complicating the Steelers’ bid for a playoff spot.
Joe Flacco’s debut with the Browns began with a 24-yard touchdown throw and ended in a 36-19 loss to the Rams. Cleveland isn’t just losing quarterbacks, they’re also losing games, and the Browns’ playoff chances are getting bigger and bigger.
Here’s what stood out on Sunday of Week 13:
The NFC playoff race just got interesting
Thirteen weeks into the season, San Francisco now has its two most impressive wins of the year: defeating the Cowboys 42-10 at home in Week 5 and dominating the Eagles 42-19 on the road on Sunday night.
This game was awkward from the start, with players from both sides — and even Eagles coach Nick Sirianni — exchanging words before kickoff and then more than once during the game. One of the most heated moments occurred midway through the third quarter when 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw threw Eagles outside hitter DeVonta Smith hard to the ground on the sideline, drawing a flag and sparking a heated reaction on the Philly sideline, including from Eagles safety Dom DiSandro. After Greenlaw and DiSandro yelled at each other and Greenlaw aggressively pointed his finger in DiSandro’s face, both were ejected.
“I just can’t believe that someone who isn’t involved in a football game could taunt our players like that and put their hands in their faces,” Shanahan said later.
DiSandro left the field to an ovation from Philly fans.
Count it among the few highlights for the home crowd: This was a methodical slugfest in which Shanahan and the 49ers flexed their considerable muscles. He was selected as a play caller and his offense scored touchdowns on six consecutive drives, three by Samuel, who waved goodbye to Eagles fans more than once. The defense allowed just 19 points, the Eagles’ lowest output since Week 6.
“If you don’t come out and play your best game against the guys and coaches they have, this is what it’s going to look like,” Sirianni said.
San Francisco’s three-game midseason losing streak? Dead. To bury. Story. This team is one of the Super Bowl favorites in every way and could very well have the coveted first place in the NFC and the first-round bye that comes with it at the end of the season.
NFC playoff picture over 13 weeks
| team | In total | Conf. Record | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10-2 | 6-1 | |
2 | 9-3 | 7-1 | |
3 | 9-3 | 6-2 | |
4 | 6-6 | 4-4 | |
5 | 9-3 | 6-3 | |
6 | 6-6 | 6-3 | |
7 | 6-6 | 4-3 | |
8th | 6-6 | 4-4 | |
9 | 6-6 | 5-4 |
Brock Purdy, who was eliminated from the NFC Championship Game in January, had another outstanding performance, throwing three touchdown passes and a passer rating of 148.8, the fourth time he’s done that this season. Only Tom Brady (2007) and Aaron Rodgers (2011) have done that in one season in NFL history.
Kind regards, the Packers keep it up
Jordan Love burst into tears. This also applies to the Packers.
The last five games for Green Bay’s quarterback: 11 touchdowns, only two interceptions and, above all, four wins.
And that means the Packers are not only alive in the NFC playoffs, but they also currently find themselves in the final wild card spot, a stunning turnaround from where they were just over a month ago. Remember: Green Bay began the year 2-5, the franchise’s worst start since 2005.
After Sunday night’s 27-19 win against the Chiefs, they are now 6-6. And looking forward, the Packers won’t see another team that has a winning record for the rest of the season.
Trailing by eight with 79 seconds left, Mahomes led a wild final drive that saw Isiah Pacheco ejected for a hit on a play that was eventually overturned, an apparent pass interference penalty missed and an unsuccessful Hail Mary, which also resulted in many contacts. But ultimately the Packers escaped. Matt LeFleur remains perfect at 16-0 as Green Bay’s head coach in December.
It was only Mahomes’ fourth career loss in December, a defeat that knocked the Chiefs (8-4) out of the top spot in the AFC playoffs. They are now behind the Dolphins, Ravens and Jaguars, who each have three losses. Jacksonville hosts Cincinnati on Monday night.
AFC playoff picture over 13 weeks
| team | In total | Conf. Record | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9-3 | 6-2 | |
2 | 9-3 | 6-3 | |
3 | 8-3 | 6-2 | |
4 | 8-4 | 6-1 | |
5 | 7-5 | 5-3 | |
6 | 7-5 | 5-3 | |
7 | 7-5 | 5-3 | |
8th | 7-5 | 4-3 | |
9 | 6-6 | 3-5 | |
10 | 6-6 | 3-5 |
Texans and Colts prepare for a big finish
It’s been 11 years since a team with a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback reached the postseason, and that was a picture-perfect 2012 season in Indianapolis in which top pick Andrew Luck and interim coach Bruce Arians led the Colts to 11 wins, while Chuck Pagano led the Colts to 11 wins battling leukemia at a local hospital.
The series could be in jeopardy this season if the Texans continue to play like this. With their 22-17 win over the Broncos on Sunday, DeMeco Ryans’ group has won five of their last seven and is firmly in the AFC playoff picture for the first time in five years.
It starts with their sensational rookie quarterback CJ Stroud, who now leads the league in passing yards (3,540), the third-most by a rookie in league history through 12 games, behind only Patrick Mahomes (3,912) and Luck (3,596).
But it goes further. Ryans has his entire team playing well. It was Houston’s defense that made the game-winning play late in the fourth quarter on Sunday, when safety Jimmie Ward picked off Russell Wilson in the end zone with nine seconds left to secure the victory – Wilson’s third interception of the day. Another Texans rookie, Will Anderson, had his best game as a pro, hitting Wilson four times, sacking him twice and tipping a fourth-quarter pass that ended up in the hands of Houston cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., one of two picks taken he had in the game.
The only downside for Houston: standout rookie receiver Tank Dell went down with a broken fibula in the first half and didn’t return; He is headed to injured reserve and is done for the year, a league source told The Athletic.
Another AFC playoff contender stayed hot in Nashville as the Colts extended their win streak to four with a 31-28 overtime win over the Titans. For Indianapolis, it is the longest winning streak since 2018, which was also the Colts’ last win over the Titans.
At this point, the Colts (7-5) own the final AFC wild card spot thanks to a Week 2 win over the Texans, who are also 7-5, but the teams will meet again in Week 18.
Tyreek Hill pacing the story
Take a minute to understand what Tyreek Hill and the Dolphins (9-3) are doing on offense this season:
» Hill is on pace for the first 2,000-yard receiving season in NFL history. The 1,481 he amassed are the most by a player in 12 games in a season in the Super Bowl era. Only four others – Charlie Hennigan (1961), Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch (1951), Lance Alworth (1965) and Calvin Johnson (2012) – had more than 1,400 at this point. Currently, Hill is on pace to finish with 2,098 yards.
» Hill has 16 career games with at least 150 receiving yards, tied with Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the second-most for a player in his first eight seasons. Only Alworth (17) had more. He also joins Rice (1995), Tim Brown (1997), Antonio Brown (2017) and Roy Green (1984) as the fifth player in league history to have five or more in a season.
» Miami is also one of three teams in the Super Bowl era with 25 passing touchdowns and 22 rushing scores in 12 games in a season, joining the 1998 Denver Broncos and 1975 Buffalo Bills.
Commanders, jets and Patriots continue to slide, but how far?
The wheels are falling off in Washington.
A little more than a month after trading defensive starters Montez Sweat and Chase Young and a week after firing defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, the Commanders suffered their second straight embarrassing loss, this time 45-15 to the Dolphins at home.
Nothing works. If you include the Thanksgiving Day loss to the Cowboys, the Commanders have been outscored 90-25 in consecutive weeks.
“When you score 21 points on a very good football team, you’re going to be in trouble,” Rivera said, referring to the 24-point hole the Commanders found themselves in before halftime.
Rivera’s seat seems to be getting warmer by the minute. His team, once 0-2, has now suffered four straight losses and is 4-9. It’s not hard to imagine the new ownership group led by Josh Harris looking to start fresh in 2024 after missing the playoffs for a third straight year.
The Jets, who lost 13-8 to the Falcons on Sunday, could derail Aaron Rodgers’ bid to return this year. New York (4-8) has lost five straight and benched another quarterback, Tim Boyle, in a game in which it didn’t score a touchdown. So far, the Jets have scored just 10 touchdowns all season – the fewest any team has scored through 12 games in at least three decades.
Meanwhile, the Patriots, their AFC East counterpart, suffered another bad loss in ugly conditions in Foxboro, losing 6-0 to the Chargers. It was the lowest-scoring game in the NFL since the Jaguars beat the Colts by the same score in 2018.
At least they made history in the process: The Patriots became the first team since the 1938 Chicago Cardinals to lose three straight despite allowing 10 points or fewer in each loss.
(Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)
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