National Football League

Game of the Week: 49ers out to save season as 3-0 Eagles come to town

Published Sep. 25, 2014 1:00 p.m. ET

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To panic or not to panic? That is the question in San Francisco.

The 3-0 Eagles are coming to Levi’s Stadium for Sunday’s FOX Game of the Week. It’s worrisome enough having to play one of three unbeaten teams, but the 49ers’ real concerns are inward.

They are 1-2, and fans seem split whether to shrug it off or jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. The shruggers note that the 49ers began 1-2 last year and finished in the NFC Championship Game.

They say all the injuries, suspensions and bad calls will eventually go away, and San Francisco will keep its standing date with playoff destiny.

“I feel good about our football team, everybody that’s in that locker room,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “And continuing to strive, to fix, to improve, to get better is what we’ll do.”

The panic crowd isn’t swayed by such platitudes. It sees a team suffering from distractions, bad karma, self-pity and Harbaugh fatigue. The operative phrase is that the coach has “lost” the team, and by the time he finds it the NFC West will be in Pete Carroll’s back pocket.

You can’t definitively declare which side is right, but what happens Sunday will certainly illuminate the issue. The 49ers think they’re just a couple of plays and an honest ref away from being 3-0. The Eagles are a few bad plays or bad calls way from being 1-2.

“We’re fortunate now to be 3-0,” coach Chip Kelly said.

There are other odd similarities. LeSean McCoy and Frank Gore, two of the NFL’s preeminent runners, have vanished from their team’s offenses. Each team has had inner turmoil, with Eagles safety Cary Williams publicly griping about Kelly’s frenetic practice routine.

Harbaugh would love to have Kelly’s problems. He’s dealing with Aldon Smith’s suspension for drunk driving and other offenses, Ray McDonald’s domestic abuse controversy and constant speculation he’s one phone call away from replacing Brady Hoke as Michigan’s coach.

That would supposedly be fine with some players, who’ve reportedly tired of Harbaugh’s crazed approach. Whether that’s true or not, the 49ers have been playing like they’re mad at the world.

They’ve been penalized 25 times for 225 yards in the past two games. After head-butting a defender, receiver Anquan Boldin came to the sideline ranting about “crap that cost us another game.”

The apoplectic reaction by a 12-year veteran indicated there might be deeper issues at play. Questionable calls don’t explain being outscored 52-3 in the second halves of games. The 49ers are also the only team to have zero fourth-quarter points.

They start fast and stagger home. They have no pass rush without Smith. Arizona backup quarterback Drew Stanton picked them apart in last Sunday’s 23-14 loss.

Gore had 10 yards on six carries. Colin Kaepernick is jittery in the pocket. A team built on defense, discipline and power running has had little of each.

“We just haven’t executed the way we should,” Kaepernick said.

Philadelphia can relate, but it’s executed when it’s had to. They’ve trailed by double figures in each game but have outscored opponents 72-24 in the second half. That includes a last-second field goal to beat Indianapolis 30-27, and a late defensive stand to hold off Washington 37-34.

Philadelphia may be lucky, but it’s also good. The innovative Kelly arrived from Oregon last season, and the Eagles won seven of their last eight games. Now they’re 3-0 for the first time since 2004.

While Philadelphia is warming to Kelly’s ways, his old Pac-12 nemesis from Stanford is suddenly at a crossroad. If trends hold on Sunday, expect Harbaugh’s team to lead by a couple of touchdowns, the Eagles to storm back, the 49ers to gripe about officiating and the game to come down to the final minute.

Then we’ll get the answer to the opening question.

If the Eagles drop to 3-1, life in Philadelphia will go on.

If the 49ers drop to 1-3, shut down the bridge.

It’s time to panic.

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