PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For the second time in five years, Philadelphia, your Eagles are playing for the ultimate prize in professional football after dominating and defeating the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 in the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia on Sunday.
The Eagles will take on former coach Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs after they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Title Game Sunday night, 23-20. The game also brings the first-ever matchup between brothers, as Eagles center Jason Kelce will take on his all-world tight end sibling Travis Kelce.
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Three touchdown runs in the first half from the combined efforts of Miles Sanders and Boston Scott, and a defense that harried, harassed and hurt both 49ers third-string quarterback Brock Purdy and fourth-string signalcaller Josh Johnson, put the Eagles on a pathway to Phoenix on the road to what they hope will be their second Super Bowl championship and fifth overall NFL title.
This will be Philadelphia’s fourth Super Bowl appearance, after losses to the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV in January 1981 and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX in February 2005, and a victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII during February 2018, the franchise’s first Super Bowl title.
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“We get to do it because we did it better than anyone in the NFC this year,” head coach Nick Sirianni said.
“You see this city and the passion they have for this team. We’re so appreciative of these fans. Look at this place. There’s no place like this in the NFL. It’s a hard-working city, it’s a blue-collar city. We think that’s the type of team we have.”
Two replays, two Reddick sacks, a masterful catch
Even the moments before kickoff had their level of critical poignance and importance, along with moments of high-tension in a game with a berth in the Super Bowl at stake.
As a light rain drip-dropped on Lincoln Financial Field with warm January temperatures in the low 50s, Philadelphia got the football first.
Hurts showed poise in the pocket against the NFL’s best defense during a third down play near midfield, finding Antonio Brown for a first down.
A third-down completion to tight end Dallas Godtert fell short of the first down, and Sirianni gambled with a fourth-and-three pass play. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith made one of the most scintillating catches of the Eagles’ season to set Philadelphia up for the game’s first score with a 29-yard masterpiece of a gain.
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Television replays showed Smith did not complete the catch properly and referees should have ruled the play an incompletion, but Smith helped get the offense organized and Philadelphia ran a play before San Francisco could challenge the ruling of a catch, so the call of a catch had to stand.
“Smart players do smart things," Sirianni said. "He did a smart thing right there. I’m going to say he caught it, though.”
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Sanders did the rest to put Philadelphia up 7-0.
A rookie who was the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy suddenly faced the most challenging snaps of his career. The third-youngest starting quarterback ever in a conference championship game got help from a game plan that focused early on a short passing game that helped him get in rhythm.
Until defensive end Haason Reddick, a Camden native, obliterated Purdy and caused a fumble that the quarterback batted up high in the air, a ball the Eagles recovered.
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“I knew that was a sack-fumble because I got my hand on the ball,” Reddick said.
The Reddick hit hurt Purdy’s throwing hand as well, and he had to sit out with an elbow injury.
Fourth-string backup Josh Johnson, a 15-year NFL veteran, took over and quickly learned what Purdy did the previous drive: Reddick could not be blocked. The Temple grad produced his second sack of the stanza.
Late in the first quarter, Hurts missed wide-open wide receiver A.J. Brown with a throw that, if completed, would likely have made the game 14-0. The subsequent punt by Brett Kern may have hit a FOX television camera wire overhead, but referees could not confirm that it did.
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Philadelphia dominated the quarter, but San Francisco still held hope from Eagles mistakes.
After frustrating few drives, Eagles cash in twice
The feeling seemed obvious as the second quarter commenced that the Eagles could take complete control, as they did from the very beginning in their domination of the New York Giants eight days beforehand in the NFC Divisional Playoff.
The 49ers had other ideas. Their all-world defensive lineman, Nick Bosa, nearly sacked Hurts in the end zone for a safety at the 12-minute mark of the quarter — reflective of how San Francisco’s defense dominated following Philadelphia’s opening salvo.
Johnson led San Francisco on another drive midway through the second quarter, and running back Christian McCaffrey’s tackle-breaking 23-yard touchdown run evened the game at 7-7.
A struggling Eagles offense successfully used the now-famous fourth-down rugby scrum play to gain a first down and keep a drive alive. A deep second-down pass to Smith went off his chest, but Jimmie Ward was called for defensive holding on third down near midfield, and the Eagles retained possession. Two San Francisco penalties added more assists to keep Philadelphia’s drive going.
“Those little things showed up on their end with the mistakes of keeping the drive going with the holding calls, hands to the face,” defensive end Brandon Graham said. “All the little things that we talk about, it showed up for them. And that’s the worst time for it to show up.”
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Running back Kenneth Gainwell’s yard-gaining further into San Francisco territory not only put Philly in scoring position, but battered a San Francisco defense with the hopes of tiring them later in the game.
For the second time, Miles Sanders brought the football home to the end zone, riding a downfield block from center Jason Kelce, and after a drive Philadelphia absolutely had to score on, the Eagles owned the advantage again, 14-7.
A botched 49ers shotgun snap gave the Eagles the football one more time before halftime. Of course, it was Reddick who came up with the ball.
Kelce credited off-season signings like Reddick and Brown as a critical piece of the Eagles’ run to their latest Super Bowl.
“The difference between this year and 2017 is all the guys who’ve been brought in have been very important pieces,” said Kelce. “And they’ve all played the best football that they’ve probably played.”
A face mask penalty against 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw put the Eagles in another goal-to-goal situation in the final 21 seconds of the half.
Scott took it to the south end zone from there and Philly took a more-secure 21-7 lead to the halftime locker room.
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Ground-and-pound running game, pounding defense
Johnson returned to quarterback the 49ers in the third quarter due to Purdy’s injury, but was hit during a throw and taken out to evaluate him for a concussion. That forced Purdy back into the game - and forced a San Francisco punt. But Philadelphia could do no better.
But while the Eagles didn’t gain many yards, they succeeded at dwindling down San Francisco’s available time for a comeback. San Francisco was limited to 164 offensive yards in the first 50 minutes of the game.
A roughing-the-punter penalty against San Francisco went Philadelphia’s way, though it appeared that the Niners’ Jordan Mason was pushed into Kern. A spectacular, tackle-juking run by Hurts delivered the ball to the six-yard line. He then punched the ball over the goal line to make it 28-7.
Philadelphia’s was the more dominant of the two talented defensive units Sunday, as again and again, they stymied San Francisco drives when it counted the most.
Jake Elliott boomed a 31-yard field goal with 5:17 left to end any semblance of remaining drama and start the party in South Philly, and all over Philadelphia.
A fight spawned by a takedown of Eagles safety K’Von Wallace by 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams with 4:13 left nearly marred the game before the referees called both teams to the sidelines for a cooling-off period. Both players were ejected.
But cooler heads eventually prevailed, and all was good in Philadelphia. And the celebration began.
“When you guys go into our indoor (practice facility), there’s always that picture in the back part of it of the 2017 NFC championship game, and it’s just the electricity of the stadium,” said Sirianni, who was hired two years ago to replace the Eagles' Super Bowl-winning coach, Doug Pederson.
“We’re looking forward to getting another picture up there of this special moment that we had."
But it’s not the last celebration the Eagles want this season.
“It’s rare to win the NFC Championship. I appreciate it. I appreciate everyone in our building and the incredible work and our fans,” said owner Jeffrey Lurie. “But our focus from September on has been winning the Super Bowl.”
“We’ve got one more game for the rest of our lives,” Sanders said.