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Jalen Mills, D-Line Fuel Defensive Effort In Rout Of 49ers

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A little rain never hurt anybody and for the Eagles, it only provided more momentum to get another win under their belt. The 33-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers puts the Eagles at 7-1 on the season, the best record in the NFL.

A strong showing from every aspect of the team, specifically the defense, helped the Eagles celebrate another win at Lincoln Financial Field.

"We came in and we didn't want to drop our standards or anything. We wanted to make sure we came in and put something out there that we can be proud of and I think we did," safety Malcolm Jenkins said. "We probably got leakier there than we wanted to toward the end of the game. There were a couple plays here or there, I'm not sure.

"I thought it was obviously a great day, turnovers, scored on defense, blocked field goals; it was a good day."

The defense limited the 49ers' offense to 3.7 yards per play and 238 total yards. 49ers rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard was sacked four times, took 12 hits, and was intercepted twice in his first career start on the road.

One of those interceptions came late in the second quarter from cornerback Jalen Mills, who intercepted Beathard's pass that was intended for wide receiver Pierre Garçon. Mills ran the ball back for a 37-yard touchdown, which put the Eagles up 17-0 going into the half. The play was Mills' first touchdown of his career and the defense's second this season.

"I've been watching film hard all week. I've been studying that route. Knowing Pierre Garçon, he's that possession receiver and also their biggest route-runner. Seeing the motion go over to the receiver's side and knowing the rookie quarterback was going to work on me, seeing that on film, I just trusted my technique and trusted my feet and my safety over the top to jump the route," Mills said. "I jumped the route and picked the ball off."

Mills' touchdown came on a third down. The 49ers struggled all game long, converting just 3 of 15 third-down attempts.

"I know for a fact that it has a lot to do with our preparation, our emphasis on third down during the week, our game plan and our execution, and then once we get to the game our ability to win one-on-one matchups, our ability to play situations, whether it's throwing it short or throwing long," Jenkins said.

"Our defensive front has a lot to do with that, guys in the back making the plays we need. It's been one of the common cause for our defense getting ourselves off the field, getting drives stopped, and today it was really important, in a close game, the weather's bad. We thought we could win on third down, especially third-and-3 or more and obviously, we were able to do that."

Linebacker Mychal Kendricks was a key member of the defense as his role increased following Jordan Hicks' season-ending Achilles injury last Monday night.

"I just want to be there for my teammates and be there when needed, so that's how I'm going to approach it, that's how I'm going to go about it," Kendricks said. "And try to do my best every time I'm out there."

Kendricks had stepped in for Hicks in the nickel subpackage two times already this season when Hicks suffered ankle injuries in both the Giants and Panthers games.

"I feel like we have had some time to build some chemistry," Kendricks said. "We still have chemistry we can still build on, we're working. We're not only building with each other, we're building with everyone on the field, every teammate in the locker room. So the whole defense, we really have to come together. As people go down and people come in, that whole thing changes, not just for the two players. It changes the defense, but like I said the thing about our team is that we're really well prepared and that's ones, twos, and threes."

The Eagles showed on Sunday that they were prepared for any situation that came their way.

"It doesn't matter. They played in the same weather we did," Jenkins said. "It's one of those things that I think we fed off of it, we had fun. It makes it one of those physical games that you just have to be patient and run the ball and try to be physical and that's the type of game we like to play. So defensively, it didn't bother us at all.

"We're hungry. Every game we feel like is an opportunity to establish ourselves to prove a point and to have fun. That's the biggest thing. We don't look past anybody. A game is an opportunity for us to compete and any time that we have that opportunity we try and dominate. So regardless of who you put out there, you're going to get the same effort, the same speed as anybody who comes out."

The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 33-10,to advance to 7-1 on the season.

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