Philadelphia Eagles: 3 takeaways from a chaotic upset victory

October 4, 2020; Santa Clara, California, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz (11) scores a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
October 4, 2020; Santa Clara, California, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz (11) scores a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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October 4, 2020; Santa Clara, California, USA; Philadelphia Eagles free safety Rodney McLeod (23) intercepts the football against San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) during the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
October 4, 2020; Santa Clara, California, USA; Philadelphia Eagles free safety Rodney McLeod (23) intercepts the football against San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) during the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Turnovers matter, who would’ve guessed it?

I touched on it briefly in my opening slide, but this was the first game all season in which the Philadelphia Eagles forced a turnover. Rodney McLeod had a red zone interception forced by an awesome Genard Avery QB hit, Cre’Von LeBlanc forced a fumble on a slot blitz which was recovered by Malik Jackson, and Alex Singleton returned an INT for a touchdown on a pass that was thrown directly to him.

After three weeks of failing to win the turnover battle, it appears this Philly defense had decided to save all their juice for one big outing.

A lot of this can be attributed to the team’s elite defensive line play, as the Eagles DEs and DTs were giving Mullens complete fits back in the pocket. Avery, Sweat, Hargrave, and Jackson in specific all had good games, but it was in an overall really solid collective effort from the entire unit.

Mullens isn’t an elite quarterback by any stretch of the imagination, but the 49ers do have two really solid offensive tackles in Trent Williams and Matt McGlinchey. So seeing the Eagles pass rushers beat them off the edge was a fun sight.

The Philadelphia Eagles offense obviously isn’t very good, so winning these turnover battles are beyond crucial to the team’s success moving forward.