Three touchdowns in the first half have helped the Philadelphia Eagles to a 21-13 lead over the San Francisco 49ers at the half-time interval.

The Eagles took the lead when their defense sacked Colin Kaepernick on third down and backed the 49ers' punting unit in the endzone. The visitors crashed through the line and blocked the punt, allowing Brad Smith to jump on the ball for the score.

San Francisco lacked fluency on offense as Kaepernick struggled for a consistent connection with his receivers, but two passes to Anquan Boldin and Brandon Lloyd were enough to put them in field goal range. Phil Dawson made no mistake from 29 yards to get his side on the scoreboard.

Kaepernick clicked into gear early in the second quarter as he edged the 49ers ahead by picking out Frank Gore with a touchdown pass from 54 yards.

However, the Eagles hit back in spectacular fashion as Malcolm Jenkins intercepted a Kaepernick pass before sprinting over 50 yards to put his side ahead.

Philadelphia earned a 21-10 lead with an equally impressive effort from Darren Sproles, who returned a punt by carrying the ball 82 yards for the touchdown.

Dawson ensured the deficit would be just eight points at the interval thanks to a late field goal.