Eagles-49ers takeaways: Blowout loss suggests offense needs to evolve; what to expect from Shaquille Leonard

The Eagles’ uneven play in recent weeks finally caught up to them in a 42-19 drubbing at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. It was the biggest losing margin of Nick Sirianni’s tenure as head coach in a meaningful game and shrinks the team’s lead on the division and conference to one game with five weeks remaining.

Here’s what we learned:

When assessing the Eagles’ red-zone woes early in Sunday’s game, the visual of Jalen Hurts standing 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage pointing at his receivers to get open as the 49ers’ rush bears down on him feels illustrative.

The out-of-structure play that led to Hurts slipping and taking a 15-yard sack is the type of play that’s worked well for the Eagles all season, but helps explain the lack of consistency the offense has experienced when relying on individual brilliance rather than creating openings through design.

To be fair, it’s not a bad formula for an offense with Hurts throwing passes to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith — the Eagles still rank seventh in offensive DVOA after Sunday’s game — but there is room for improvement against the elite teams who can match up slightly better with the Eagles’ star-laden passing attack particularly in the red zone.

» READ MORE: The Eagles were humbled by the 49ers. Just a blip? Or cause for greater concern?

The Eagles’ first “have to have it” play was on the first drive, a third-and-7 from the 49ers’ 8-yard line. They targeted Brown on a fade route, which was broken up by Charvarius Ward draped in coverage.

The next series, the Eagles ran a shot play on second down that resulted in Hurts backpedaling and directing traffic before slipping and taking the aforementioned inadvisable sack.

That’s in stark contrast from the 49ers’ offense, which dominated the game from the second quarter on with motion and unbalanced formations intended to put stress on the Eagles’ middle-field defenders and create space for its playmakers. The Eagles’ offensive approach can work most weeks, especially against lesser teams, but will need to have more answers against the elite defenses in a month’s time.

When criticizing the play choices on late downs in the red zone, it’s only fair to point out what transpired before them.

That’s where the Eagles’ lack of rushing production comes into play, which gets to the root of the offensive inconsistency even more so than any schematic qualms in the pass game.

After being one of the best rushing teams in the league earlier this season and all of last year, production on the ground has been somewhat feast or famine the last few months. Against the Niners, they had their lowest rushing total of the season — managing 46 yards and getting just 20 yards out of their running back committee on nine carries.

While the Brotherly Shove numbers can be deceptive, it’s also important to note that Hurts hasn’t been as much of a threat as a runner this year, both in the red zone and outside of it. Hurts’ plus-one nature in the run game is well-documented and allows the Eagles to be effective on the ground while operating almost exclusively out of the shotgun. It’s the foundation on which the team’s dominant run-pass option game is built off of and something that played a major part in the team’s red-zone success in recent years.

Against the 49ers, Hurts had just 20 rushing yards. It’s the ninth time in his career he has been held to under 25 yards on the ground and the fourth time this season. Some of this has been out of necessity. Hurts battled through a knee injury earlier this year and had an injury scare Sunday when he got pulled from the game by the concussion spotter in the fourth quarter.

Still, the ripple effects are there. The Eagles used a higher percentage of under-center runs than usual on Sunday, which might need to become a bigger part of things if Hurts’ contributions don’t change. Doing so would change the complexion of the offense, but the offense may have to adapt for its own good.

» READ MORE: Good news: Jalen Hurts emerged unscathed from the Eagles’ loss to the 49ers. Bad news: Everything else.

Setting the offense aside, the defense is the group that may have the bigger concerns to glean from the loss.

The six touchdowns on six consecutive drives featured breakdowns at all three levels of the Eagles’ defense, but the linebacker and secondary play especially makes a potential rematch between these two teams in the playoffs a major concern. The matchup against Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb this week looms large as well, especially with the Cowboys showing even more creativity in getting the star receiver the ball in recent weeks. He had 191 receiving yards against the Eagles in the first matchup — next Sunday could be even uglier.

Defensive coordinator Sean Desai has gotten quality play out of a revolving door of linebackers, safeties, and slot corners this season but there isn’t really anywhere left to turn when things are snowballing.

The Eagles have relied upon several unexpected players like Eli Ricks, Bradley Roby, Christian Elliss, Nicholas Morrow, and Kevin Byard. Even with Morrow clearly struggling (more on that later), Desai had nowhere to turn save for undrafted rookie Ben VanSumeren.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ overmatched linebackers exploited by the 49ers for the Birds’ worst defensive showing since 2021

When assessing the linebacker spot, It’s easy to point to general manager Howie Roseman’s aversion to investing heavily at the position. That said, it’s important to note the team has drafted Day 2 linebackers twice in the last four years without finding a steady answer at the position.

Davion Taylor, a 2020 third-round pick, never saw the field, got cut before the season, and is currently a free agent at age 25. Nakobe Dean may still become a viable starter, but it won’t be this season after a foot injury landed him on injured reserve.

The play of Kyzir White and T.J. Edwards last year proved it’s possible to find viable starting linebackers without heavy investment, but the team is experiencing the flip side of that risky approach this season.

With that said, will Shaquille Leonard finally solve the Eagles’ linebacker problems?

Morrow had the worst game of his season so far against the Niners, allowing six catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns when targeted, according to Pro Football Focus. What’s even worse, 151 of the 175 receiving yards came after the catch on Morrow, who was also charged with a missed tackle on Deebo Samuel’s 48-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

» READ MORE: Shaq Leonard film review

Whether Leonard will be a true upgrade remains to be seen. It’s important to temper expectations for the 28-year-old, who is coming off back surgery and was benched in Indianapolis because of a decline in play that defy his All-Pro accolades.

He’s unlikely to be the savior in any rematch with the 49ers, but the signing will restore the potential for in-game rotation when things snowball the way they did on Sunday. When Zach Cunningham returns, the Eagles will have two lengthy linebackers at the very least with Morrow and Elliss as depth options. It’s not a dominant group, but it’s better than what we saw against San Francisco.