Eagles avoid trap, trounce 49ers | Marcus Hayes

It had all the trappings of a trap game.

At home, on a short week, off a big win. Five straight victories but two injured starters. Bad weather and a winless, desperate opponent.

Eagles 33, 49ers 10.

"We know people would think this was a trap game for us," linebacker Nigel Bradham said. "Shoot. We don't need to look ahead."

The Birds' offense wasn't particularly sharp in the first few minutes, but their complacency melted away in the chill autumn rain. By the second quarter they gathered themselves, leaned on the defense and moved to 7-1.

"We have great leaders on this football team. They know how to keep the guys focused," said coach Doug Pederson, who realized a win six days before against Washington might have sapped his team's will and its strength. "We were coming off that emotional Monday night game, a relatively short week. … To not overlook this team is a tremendous effort by the players in that locker room."

Carson Wentz faced blitz after blitz, and did so without starting left tackle Jason Peters, gone for 2017 with a shredded knee. Wentz never quite got his footing, but then it doesn't always have to be about Wentz. Outside linebacker Mychal Kendricks returned from a one-game hamstring vacation and compensated for Jordan Hicks, lost for the season last week to an Achilles' tendon rupture. Kendricks led the team with seven tackles and sacked rooked quarterback C.J. Beathard, who hit the ground four times in all. Beathard also threw a pick-six to Jalen Mills.

The injuries actually helped.

"Any time you lose captains like that, you can't replace those guys, for what they do," Bradham said. "So, guys know we need them to step up for the team."

There were plenty of reasons for the Eagles to disregard the 49ers. Yes, the Niners had played five of their opponents to within three points, but they also had scored just 15 points or fewer four times (make it five now).

Beathard, in his second start, was, predictably, overmatched. The Niners began the game without starting right tackle Trent Brown, who had a concussion, and played the second half without left tackle Joe Staley, who got hit in the eye.

There was real temptation to look past the Niners. The Broncos — 3-3 entering Monday night against the Chiefs — visit next week. A bye beckons the week after. The Eagles couldn't care less. They're so locked in right now they might not know Halloween comes Tuesday.

Losing to the Niners would have been ghastly.

"Even though they're 0-7 coming into the game, you understand: If you don't go out there and execute the proper techniques, you can get beaten real easy," said center Jason Kelce.

His modesty is merited. The Eagles might be 7-1, but they are not dominant, especially when teams bring extra pass rushers. According to Pederson, they see more extra pass rushers than any team in the NFL; and with good reason. The Birds sputter when they see unexpected defensive alignments, fronts and blitzes, Kelce said. Worse, their running backs clearly botch blocking assignments. That affects everything Wentz tries to do.

He entered with 11 touchdown passes and two interceptions in his last three games, but that guy was nowhere to be found Sunday afternoon. His 211 passing yards against the Niners were his second-lowest this season; he threw for 176 in a win against the Giants in Week 3. His passer rating was 84.2, second-worst to the 83.0 he compiled in a loss at Kansas City in Week 2. He threw a bafflingly bad interception in the third quarter that the Niners turned into a touchdown that cut the lead to 13 … but he responded with a lovely back-shoulder bomb to Alshon Jeffery for a 53-yard touchdown.

The Niners confused him with blitzes, sacked him three times, flushed him from the pocket and clobbered him occasionally. He could have lost the game. He did not. That's what mattered.

"He did a good job not turning the ball over today," said defensive end Brandon Graham, who collected his fifth sack of the season. "We've got to keep protecting the offense. Keep hiding the some of the flaws sometimes, when [they] can't get it going, we've got to make sure we get them going by bringing our energy."

Mission accomplished: 33-10 in a trap game.

The Eagles are hungry. And humble.

And they are a team not easily trapped.

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