Eagles OC fired following playoff loss. This play could have been the final straw: [View all]

[Auggie]

Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is looking for a job having been dismissed yesterday. Yes, the offense had been struggling this season and the pink slip had probably already been written, though this fourth quarter play in the wildcard likely hastened his departure.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Before 4th-and-11 from the 49ers’ 21-yard line with 43 seconds left, (Tom) Brady, from the broadcast booth, predicted (49ers defensive coordinator Robert) Saleh would show a blitz and drop out of it. On Philadelphia’s sideline, during a timeout before the play, Patullo didn’t have the same foresight.

Before the snap, linebackers Eric Kendricks and Garret Wallow, on each side of center Cam Jurgens, joined the 49ers’ four defensive linemen at the line of scrimmage. At the snap, however, they dropped into coverage.

Because Saleh feigned the blitzes, running back Saquon Barkley, the NFL’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year, stayed in to block instead of running a route with the season on the line. And as Kendricks broke up QB Jalen Hurts’ pass to tight end Dallas Goedert, Barkley was unnecessarily helping right guard Tyler Steen block pass rusher Yetur-Gross Matos, who was part of a defense that had one QB hit in the game.

Kendricks, 33, an 11-year veteran, said he expected Hurts to target wide receiver A.J. Brown, Goedert or Barkley in such a crucial situation. And once he saw Barkley wasn’t a threat, and with Brown running an end-zone route, he broke to the middle of the field and stepped in front of Goedert at the 8-yard line.

Link (paywall): https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/49ers-game-review-brock-purdy-s-gangster-21292483.php

Don't know about the rest of you, but I expected Philly to convert the fourth down and win the game. Now you know the circumstances that helped Kendricks make that game-saving play.

This is why I love football.