National Football League

Eagles defense set up to stop 49ers' Gore

Published Oct. 11, 2010 10:08 a.m. ET

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SAN FRANCISCO - It was a recipe for disaster that cooked up a stunning success, as the Eagles kept the 49ers winless, 27-24.

The Eagles had their soft underbelly exposed the week before. Their inability to stop the run, even telegraphed runs, dearly cost them in their loss to the Redskins, when they allowed 169 rushing yards and lost, 17-12.

Ominously, on the second play of last night's game, they lost defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley to an elbow strain. The 49ers, whose best player is versatile running back Frank Gore, appeared to have a clear advantage.

By the end of the first half, the advantage was clear. The Eagles had held the 49ers to 31 rushing yards on 15 tries. Gore was 13-for-22, and finished with 18 carries for 52 yards.

With Bunkley sidelined, tackles Mike Patterson, Trevor Laws and, more striking, reserve Antonio Dixon swelled up, stiffened - and taught their bosses something.

"You learn a little more about your personnel each and every week," defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said. "This week, we learned something good."

It is nothing Patterson and the rest of the line didn't know.

"It lets you know what kind of talent we have on this team," Patterson said. "It's a good start for us."

Especially for Dixon, whose only thought running onto the field was:

"I just can't let my team down."Dixon stoned Gore for a 1-yard gain. Patterson did the same.

Defensive end Trent Cole dropped him for a 2-yard loss. Safety Nate Allen supported and planted Gore 4 years behind the line. Defensive end Brandon Graham popped him for minus-4, the key play late in the second quarter that squelched that Niners possession and set up the Eagles' second touchdown.

Graham added a sack-and-strip in the fourth quarter that was run back for a touchdown.

"The defensive line stepped up and played their butts off against an offensive line I thought was pretty good," said coach Andy Reid, impressed with how little Bunkley's absence impacted the other linemen. "I don't think they really care who's out there and who's not out there."

"Nope," Graham agreed. "We've got other defensive linemen who'll step up. Dix? He's a guy who's going to keep going up. We didn't miss a beat with him in there."

The play of Dixon and the other linemen at the point of attack helped set up the linebackers for big plays, too.

Near the end of the first quarter, linebacker Moise Fokou flew in from Gore's left and, splendidly, knocked the football loose from Gore's right hand, a midfield turnover that shortly turned a 7-7 game into a 10-7 Eagles lead.

Near the start of the third quarter, linebacker Ernie Sims stripped Gore at almost the same spot on the field.

Later in the third, deep in Niners territory, Stewart Bradley stopped Gore for only 2 yards.

Dixon also logged his first sack of the season, the second of his career.

And, of course, early in the fourth, Dixon was part of the containment that flushed quarterback Alex Smith and set up a fumble forced by Graham that Quintin Mikell returned for the sealing score.

"He came in and did great job, getting push up the middle and solidifying the run defense," McDermott said of Dixon.

True, the Birds were beaten on the ground by teams with frontline quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay rolled for 132 rushing yards in the opener, and Donovan McNabb returned last week with the Redskins.

It was never a game against Jacksonville, which got 23 yards from quarterback David Gerrard, and, while the 115 the Eagles gave up against the Lions was unsettling, the magic of Michael Vick served to preserve a win.

The formula for beating the Niners has been, of course, stop Gore and make the sputtering Smith beat you. The formula has now worked five times in five tries, since the Niners remain winless and Gore has only 322 rushing yards in those games.

Nevertheless, the Eagles had allowed almost 140 rushing yards per game. The tackles and linebackers were under siege. This week, Fokou replaced Akeem Jordan in the lineup at strongside linebacker.

That move worked.

Inserting Dixon worked.

Keying on Gore worked.

With Bunkley down, it might have made all the difference.

It needs to continue when the scorching Falcons and Matt Ryan come to visit, on a four-game winning streak.

"We've got another tough challenge next week," Patterson noted, "with those boys coming to town."

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