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49ers vs. Eagles: The good, bad and ugly from Week 8 loss to Philadelphia

By Peter Panacy

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 29: C.J. Beathard #3 of the San Francisco 49ers is tackled for no gain by the Philadelphia Eagles after trying to covert on third down in the third quarter during their game at Lincoln Financial Field on October 29, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 29: C.J. Beathard #3 of the San Francisco 49ers is tackled for no gain by the Philadelphia Eagles after trying to covert on third down in the third quarter during their game at Lincoln Financial Field on October 29, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – OCTOBER 29: C.J. Beathard #3 of the San Francisco 49ers is sacked by Fletcher Cox #91 of the Philadelphia Eagles in the second quarter during their game at Lincoln Financial Field on October 29, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – OCTOBER 29: C.J. Beathard #3 of the San Francisco 49ers is sacked by Fletcher Cox #91 of the Philadelphia Eagles in the second quarter during their game at Lincoln Financial Field on October 29, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

The Ugly

Not long ago, Niner Noise looked at why last week’s 40-10 blowout at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys was a better indication of where the 49ers were at than their five-consecutive narrow losses beforehand.

Related Story: Why you shouldn't be shocked by 49ers' 40-10 loss to Cowboys

Week 8 appeared to validate this argument, and it’s possible to point out some of the ugly problems we’re likely to see out of San Francisco for the rest of the season.

And injuries are a major component here.

The Injury Bug

For some reason, bad NFL teams are often associated with two factors — a lot of salary cap space and a plethora of injuries.

San Francisco has both.

Safety Jimmie Ward’s season could be over after breaking his forearm, which hurts the defense. And who knows if rookie linebacker Reuben Foster will be known for injuries more than his ability to impact the defense?

Injuries forced fellow rookie Solomon Thomas out of the game, as well as wide receiver Pierre Garçon, left tackle Joe Staley and right tackle Garry Gilliam, to name a few.

The offensive line injuries made things much worse for C.J. Beathard and the offense, as the game grew out of hand in the second half.

Pass Protection

Let this graphic (h/t Evan Sowards of 49ers Hub) sink in for a bit:

That would-be fifth sack was negated by a 49ers timeout called just before the snap, but the numbers are still pretty bad regardless.

Philadelphia’s front seven is arguably one of the best in the NFL this season, and the mismatch against a patchwork Niners O-line made Beathard’s life problematic, to say the least.

Overall, Beathard wound up taking four sacks and 12 hits.

More from Niner Noise

San Francisco’s starting tackles, Staley and Trent Brown (out with a concussion), are the two areas where the Niners shouldn’t have to worry. It’s the interior O-line positions and depth that are issues.

Needless to say, the 49ers need to make some major upgrades to this unit at some point between now and 2018.

Unless they’re comfortable with their quarterbacks being under constant pressure.

The Niners now limp home to arguably their easiest challenge thus far in the season — a Week 9 contest against the Arizona Cardinals, who will be without quarterback Carson Palmer (arm).

Next: 49ers vs. Eagles: San Francisco Week 8 grades and analysis

If San Francisco doesn’t win that, well, we don’t know what to tell you other than the 49ers are bad.