2. Cutting down on the Gore: 'Niners running back Frank Gore came into the game averaging 4.8 yards per carry and also had a team-high 19 receptions. The Eagles did not do a great job of containing him as he averaged 5.3 yards per carry (101 yards on 19 carries, one touchdown) and caught three passes for 16 yards.
3. Run, baby,run: The Eagles are still a pass, baby, pass team as was evident when they threw the ball 36 times and ran it 21. But they did improve on their yards-per-carry average. Coming in, they were 29th in the league in rushing average (3.5). Yesterday, the Eagles averaged 4.9 yards per carry, led by Correll Buckhalter - filling in for the injured Brian Westbrook (ribs) - who gained 93 yards on 18 carries (5.2 average) and scored a TD.
4. A special-teams difference: The Eagles' kickoff coverage has been erratic all season, too often giving opponents a short field to work with. That said, it was asking a lot of them to stop the Niners' Allen Rossum, who entered the game fifth in the league in KR average (28.9). Yesterday, Rossum had nine kickoff returns for 194 yards (a 21.6 average) and ran back a punt for 45 yards that set up the Niners' first field goal.
5. Getting out of that second-half rut: The Eagles' offense has been horrendous in the second half this season. Prior to yesterday's game, just 38 of their 127 points had come after intermission. That changed yesterday when the Birds - who led 17-16 at the half - managed to score 23 fourth-quarter points to put the game away.
