SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Kevin Kolb passed for 209 yards and LeSean McCoy rushed for a 29-yard score through the heart of the San Francisco defense shortly before halftime, leading the Philadelphia Eagles into the fourth quarter with a 17-10 lead over the 49ers on Sunday night.
Kolb was largely outstanding in place of injured Michael Vick, going 17 for 24 in his fourth career NFL start.
Kolb also made the best play of a scoreless third quarter with a 19-yard run for a first down, dodging between tacklers and ball-faking with a slickness that recalled Vick at his elusive best. After falling forward to get the first down on the third-and-18 play, Kolb jumped up and triumphantly fist-pumped.
Alex Smith passed for 170 yards but threw an interception for the winless 49ers, who faced a late deficit in their attempt to avoid their first 0-5 start in 31 years. San Francisco’s defense sacked Kolb four times and forced a key fumble, but the 49ers’ offense committed three turnovers, including two fumbles by Frank Gore.
After McCoy’s scoring run 1:53 before halftime, San Francisco trimmed the lead on Joe Nedney’s 50-yard field goal 43 seconds left. Manny Lawson then forced a fumble by Kolb with 16 seconds left to give the 49ers another chance to score, but Nedney hooked a 40-yard attempt wide right.
Michael Crabtree had six catches for 84 yards and a touchdown for San Francisco, which already had lost twice this season on last-second field goals.
Kolb was back in Philadelphia’s starting lineup in place of Vick, who injured his ribs in last week’s loss to Washington. Kolb was the Eagles’ starting quarterback out of training camp, but sat out with a concussion after the opener while Vick was chosen the NFC’s offensive player of the month for September.
Both offenses scored on their first drives at Candlestick Park, and neither quarterback threw an incompletion on 12 combined passes in the first quarter. Smith hit Crabtree for a 7-yard score on San Francisco’s crisp 11-play drive, but Kolb replied with a TD pass to tight end Brent Celek, who outwrestled two tacklers to reach the end zone with 2:23 left in the quarter.
San Francisco committed turnovers on its next two possessions. Gore’s midfield fumble was recovered by former 49ers cornerback Joselio Hanson, filling in for injured Asante Samuel. After David Akers hit a 33-yard field goal for the Eagles, Smith threw a long interception near the goal line when Eagles cornerback Dimitri Patterson outfought Ted Ginn Jr.
Philadelphia then capped a short scoring drive from midfield with a determined run by McCoy, who burst through a couple of arm tackles on the way to the end zone. McCoy’s touchdown was his fifth of the season, surpassing his total from his entire rookie year in 2009.
Gore fumbled again on San Francisco’s first drive of the second half, and Kolb drove the Eagles past midfield, where Akers missed a 53-yard field goal attempt on the first play of the fourth quarter.
San Francisco hopes to avoid the franchise’s first 0-5 start since losing its opening seven games of a 2-14 season with first-year coach Bill Walsh in 1979.
The Niners looked nothing like an 0-4 team on their first series in the home debut of new offensive coordinator Mike Johnson, scoring a touchdown on their opening drive for only the second time since 2008.
Longtime Eagles running back Brian Westbrook even contributed to the opening drive after a slow start to his first year in San Francisco. Westbrook, who had been on the field for only four plays in the first four games, took his first handoff from Smith for a 6-yard gain.
Eagles defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley left just 1:01 into the game with a strained elbow. The team said he was unlikely to return.
Add A Comment