SANTA CLARA – Eagles coach Nick Sirianni praised the 49ers’ roster Wednesday for having “some of the best players in the world over there,” and one such player did not escape notice: defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
“Shoot, one of our better players from last year is on their team,” Sirianni told reporters in Philadelphia.
Hargrave defected from the NFC champion Eagles to the NFC runner-up 49ers via a free agency payday, and he’s been as strong as any of their defensive linemen in their current three-game surge.
The 49ers (8-3) need Hargrave and their all-world defensive front to stay hot Sunday, when they visit the Eagles (10-1) and elusive quarterback Jalen Hurts.
However, a twist has arisen: Arik Armstead, Hargrave’s partner on the interior, did not practice Monday or Wednesday because of a foot injury. Armstead, who battled plantar fasciitis in a foot last season, is not wearing an orthopedic support boot and was seen walking OK in the locker room.
“They’ve played really well off each other,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said of the Hargrave-Armstead pairing.
Hargrave has relied on Armstead to get comfortable in the 49ers’ scheme, and the two 30-year-old veterans share broader knowledge: “We tell each other everything, what we’re seeing, and we really communicate off the field, too, like telling each other tips.”
Hargrave doesn’t need many more tips 11 games into his 49ers tenure.
“I think I’ve got it now, more so of knowing my plays and what we’re trying to do,” added Hargrave, who has 1 ½ sacks in each of the 49ers’ past two road games – wins at Jacksonville and Seattle – to raise his season total to six sacks, plus 12 quarterback hits.
Hargrave had a career-high 11 sacks last season (with 16 hits) in his third season for the Eagles, after four years as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ nose tackle.
“I’m happy he’s on our side and not their side this time around,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “He’s been so consistent for us, in terms of getting disruption up there in the middle on our defensive line. It’s been such a key to what we do.”
What Hargrave and the Eagles did last year was beat the 49ers 31-7 in the NFC Championship Game, where Haason Reddick injured Brock Purdy’s throwing elbow on their opening series. Hargrave has tried to maintain neutrality anytime that game has come up since he arrived in March on a hefty contract (four years, $84 million).
“I smile and laugh,” Hargrave said. “I don’t say nothing to nobody. I ain’t on either side when it comes to last year.”
A month ago, Hargrave got the rest he apparently needed for this stretch run. An Oct. 29 loss to Cincinnati saw Hargrave look especially haggard, according to Shanahan, who said: “He looked like needed rest more than anyone, and he got that.”
Hargrave is playing 65 percent of the defensive snaps, offering reliability that benefits his surrounding teammates. Shanahan said Hargrave
“Just having the confidence that he’s going to do his job is enough,” Nick Bosa said. “When you know he’s hitting the ‘B’ gap, you know he’s going to get that penetration, it makes me confidence in what I’m doing.”
Bosa, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has a team-high eight sacks and an NFL-best 29 quarterback hits. Armstead has five sacks, while Chase Young and Clelin Ferrell each have 1 ½.
“Our production has gone up huge with our D-line, and the whole group has been doing really well together. It’s never just one guy,” Shanahan said. “All them collectively are at the top of their game right now.”
The 49ers have racked up 15 sacks over their three-game win streak, and that’s as many sacks as they had the first seven games combined. Spicing up that pass rush three games ago was the addition of Young.
“I think very highly of him as a player,” Sirianni said. “To add him with Armstead, Bosa and Javon, and they have depth behind that, it’s paid dividends for them, and they’re really solid on that defensive line.”
The Eagles counter with an MVP-caliber quarterback in Jalen Hurts, who will require the 49ers to deploy “the whole group,” said Hargrave, noting he can only wish he has a secret strategy to combat the “Brotherly Shove” play that helps account for 8 of Hurts’ 11 touchdown runs.
PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS
Return specialist Ray-Ray McCloud (rib) and running back Jordan Mason (hamstring) were the only other 49ers not practicing. McCloud also missed practice time last week but did play in Thursday night’s win at Seattle, where he muffed a fourth-quarter punt return. Mason is a mainstay on special teams, so if he can not play this week, it could bring Ty Davis-Price off the bench.
