The Eagles were humbled by the 49ers. Just a blip? Or cause for greater concern?

Jason Kelce’s assessment of the Eagles after they fell short of measuring up to the 49ers sounded like an odd one to make for a team that still has the NFL’s best record.

“We’re not good enough right now,” the center said.

The Eagles’ 42-19 loss to San Francisco, in which they were thoroughly beaten on offense and defense, certainly suggested as much — if the bar is returning to the Super Bowl. But Kelce’s evaluation seemingly spoke to the team’s overall performance this season.

“We haven’t been playing our best football yet this year, but we’ve won a lot of games,” Kelce said. “I don’t think that we’ve been playing bad. I just think we need to just get more consistent. That’s the bottom line.”

But after 12 games, it’s fair to wonder if the Eagles aren’t capable of playing any better. At some point, you are what you are, even if the old Bill Parcells adage about your record says that Nick Sirianni’s squad is still the league’s best at 10-2.

The Eagles, at times, seemed to keep winning in spite of themselves. It would be foolish, though, to downplay victories over the Cowboys, Chiefs, and Bills ahead of the NFC championship rematch with the 49ers. Those are very good teams, as are the Eagles.

They were unlikely to go unscathed during the “Gauntlet” stretch of the season that had been given its nickname since the schedule was released months ago. The 49ers are as equipped as any team to knock off the Birds at home, especially coming off 10 days of rest.

But the Eagles got their teeth kicked in on Sunday — suffering the worst loss in the Sirianni era in terms of point differential, if the meaningless 2021 finale vs. Dallas is taken out of the equation — and it’s fair to question whether it was just a blip or is cause for greater concern.

» READ MORE: The 49ers shredded the Eagles defense. Here are our grades.

How they respond Sunday night in Texas vs. the Cowboys could provide the answer. But the Eagles can’t be worrying about the No. 1 seed, or about seeing San Francisco again in the playoffs, even though some players were heard mentioning the possibility postgame.

“I heard a lot of guys back and forth talking about playing them again, and it’s probably going to happen again,” Sirianni said. “But there is so much football to be played between now and then. There are so many other good teams also.

“So that can’t be in our thought process.”

The coach and his players, for the most part, humbly accepted defeat. But it had to be a bitter pie to eat after the 49ers had diminished their playoff win in January, had so clearly circled this date on their calendars, and had individuals who disrespected certain Eagles.

Sirianni replayed some of the clips during the Saturday team meeting.

“There were some things said after that last game,” he said, explaining his message. “If you want to use that as motivation, use it. If it distracts you, then don’t.”

Either way, it probably didn’t matter. The 49ers were far superior in terms of their game plan and execution, and while there have been changes to both teams since last season, their claim that they would have represented the NFC in February had their starting and backup quarterback not been knocked from the championship has some merit.

At the least, Kyle Shanahan’s squad made an argument that it’s the team to beat in the conference this season. The 49ers sustained the Eagles’ opening salvo which included two drives deep into San Francisco territory and two three-and-outs forced by Sean Desai’s defense.

And then they dominated from the second quarter on, especially on offense. They scored touchdowns on six straight possessions — averaging a whopping 9.6 yards per play — while quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense sputtered.

Sirianni had an opportunity to stop the carnage late in the third quarter. The Eagles, trailing 28-13, faced fourth-and-3 at their own 32. At that point, Desai’s unit had allowed the 49ers four straight trips into the end zone. But Sirianni elected to punt.

“There was a lot of football left to play in the third and fourth quarter,” Sirianni said. “So I don’t regret that decision.”

» READ MORE: Good news: Jalen Hurts emerged unscathed from the Eagles’ loss to the 49ers. Bad news: Everything else.

Hurts had taken a shot to the head on third down, one that would draw the attention of the independent spotter, but Sirianni said his quarterback’s health didn’t factor into his decision.

“In a game like that, you definitely want to be aggressive and we have been aggressive in the past,” Hurts said. “But we always support whatever call is made in that situation.”

The Eagles, ultimately, were outclassed on both sides of the ball. But what may be most troubling was that they failed to match San Francisco’s physicality — up front, but especially in the open field vs. the 49ers’ skill position players.

“That’s a tough team to tackle,” Sirianni said. “We take pride in our tackling. I think we’ve been pretty good this year. We’re in the top 10 as far as missed tackle rate.

“But we didn’t do a good enough job today.”

Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, and even quarterback Brock Purdy broke tackles. The Eagles’ off-ball linebackers, in particular Nicholas Morrow, had forgettable moments.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ overmatched linebackers exploited by the 49ers for the Birds’ worst defensive showing since 2021

The unit was shorthanded, and Desai isn’t responsible for personnel, but he failed to account for their deficiencies. Shanahan’s presnap and at-the-snap motions had the Eagles’ secondary running in circles.

“Guys were put in tough positions given the call that was made, but that’s football,” said James Bradberry, who had been called “trash” by Samuel in February, a statement the 49ers receiver declined to take back last week. “We just didn’t make those plays when we needed to.”

Desai’s zone-heavy calls didn’t help matters, but the Eagles didn’t have anyone to match McCaffrey. Few defenses do.

“It’s tough to play this team in man across the board,” Bradberry said, “because they have a dynamic running back that can get mismatches against linebackers and safeties.”

But it was a collective failure. From the tepid pass rush to the nonexistent running game, the Eagles couldn’t keep pace with the 49ers. The NFL is a week-to-week business. Teams rebound from blowout losses all the time. They come back and beat opponents that smoked them before in the postseason.

The Eagles can’t get caught up in narratives, though. Sunday’s loss may hint to a disparity between the two teams. But the 9-3 Cowboys await. The Birds still control their own destiny and a loss here may have been the comeuppance Sirianni and his charges needed.

Kelce, despite his pragmatism about his team, still has faith.

“Obviously, disappointed in the way we performed because we didn’t get it done today,” Kelce said. “But we’ve still got some games left. A lot of football to learn from. We’re going to watch this tape. I still have the utmost confidence in everybody in this locker room, on both sides of the ball.

“This game doesn’t do anything to sway that.”