PHILADELPHIA -- Since taking over the starting cornerback job as a rookie midway through last season, Eagles corner Jalen Mills has been under heavy criticism.

Fans have called for his job. Teams have thrown at him nonstop. Some analysts have called him the worst cornerback in the NFL.

On Sunday, in the Eagles' 33-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers, Mills took another step towards silencing his critics and had a message for them after his 37-yard interception return for a touchdown with 1:38 remaining in the second quarter -- keep throwing the ball at him.

"I hope so," Mills said. "Then results like that happen."

The results of the 49ers targeting Mills were not pretty for San Francisco on Sunday, as Mills didn't allow a touchdown, and changed the game with his interception of quarterback C.J. Beathard with one minute and 51 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

"[I've] Been watching film hard all week. Been studying that route. Knowing (49ers receiver) Pierre Garcon, he is their position receiver and also best route runner," Mills said. "Seen the motion go over single-receiver side, knowing the rookie quarterback was going to try to work him, soon as I got the stem that I've been seeing all week on film, kind of trusted my technique, trusted my feet and trusted my safety up top so I could jump the route. Jumped the route and picked the ball off."

Mills perfectly jumped the pass from Beathard, which came on 3rd-and-7, and then proceeded to weave his way through traffic 37-yards for the score. The touchdown upped the Eagles' lead from just 9-0 to 17-0 after the team completed a two-point conversion, and essentially put the game away.

Teams targeting Mills is nothing new, as he has been targeted 68 times this season, and 91 times last season -- a total of 159 times in 24 games. Despite being peppered with passes all game, Mills has picked off almost as many passes (3) as he has allowed touchdowns (5), according to Pro Football Focus.

Mills has also been tasked with covering some of the best receivers in the NFL since becoming a starter, as last season he was matched up with receivers like Atlanta Falcons' Julio Jones and Pittsburgh Steelers' Antonio Brown, and this season he was asked to cover Giants receiver Odell Beckham for the entire game.

Despite the tall task he has been handed, Mills -- a seventh-round pick in 2016 -- has come out of his firestorm welcome to the NFL as a starting cornerback on the best team in football.

An outcome that has him hoping teams continue to throw at him, and not worried about what the critics have to say about his play.

"I don't worry about that. Don't really focus on that," Mills said. "Focus on winning and playing my heart out for my team."

Eliot Shorr-Parks may be reached at eshorrpa@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @EliotShorrParks. Find NJ.com Eagles on Facebook.