SEATTLE – Brock Purdy barely had time to relish the 49ers’ 31-13 win Thursday night in Seattle when, well, it was time to look at the next challenge.
Too soon to talk about the next road game, Dec. 3 at Philadelphia? Too soon to rekindle memories from 10 months ago, when his right elbow was injured in a 31-7 loss in the NFC Championship Game.
“Obviously it’s going to be a big one on the road,” Purdy said. “We know that. Everyone knows that. But we’re just taking it one day at a time and we’re going to enjoy this one.”
Purdy preached about taking the extended weekend to “recover and clear our mind,” and when it comes to the game plan for the Eagles, “we’ll get to it next week.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan offered a similar message to end his locker room address to the first-place 49ers (8-3).
“There’s not many times in football where you can play on Thanksgiving, have three days off, have three days to think about what you did. These three days go fast,” Shanahan said. “You guys have earned it. I want you guys to rest. But you know what’s ahead of us.”
After winning in back-to-back seasons in Seattle for the first time in franchise history, the 49ers must win in Philadelphia to make their move for the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed. But first, the Eagles (9-1) host the Buffalo Bills (6-5) on Sunday.
“Obviously a lot of people are looking forward to it because of how last year ended,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “But last year has nothing to do with next week. It’s still just one game for us to go 1-0. It’ll be another tough environment, just like it was (in Seattle).”
Left guard Aaron Banks noted that the 49ers moved up to No. 2 in the NFC playoff race – by virtue of a conference-record tiebreaker over the Detroit Lions – and said this coming matchup is “everything you want it to be” in terms of high stakes.
“We just have to be prepared for the environment and be prepared for their up-front (defensive line) guys. They’re pretty damn good, so we have to have a good plan for them,” Banks said. “We have 1 ½ weeks to get our bodies back and get ready to go out there and get a little rematch in.”
The 49ers defensive front has some pretty stellar guys, too. The 49ers registered a season-high six sacks Thursday night, giving them 15 over their three-game win streak since introducing Chase Young into their rotation via his trade last month; they totaled 18 sacks in their previous eight games combined.
“It’s two of the top teams in the NFC and we’re excited and ready to get out there and face them again,” defensive tackle Arik Armstead. “I like playing in big-time games, and this is going to be one of those.”
