Eagles vs. 49ers NFC Championship: The good, the bad, and the ugly

The Eagles are going to the Tremendous Bowl for the fourth time in franchise historical past, after their dominating 31-7 victory over the steadily deflating San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at Lincoln Monetary Discipline.

The NFC championship was moderately anti-climactic and over after the Niners’ first collection, when beginning quarterback Brock Purdy went down with an elbow harm and San Francisco needed to resort to their fourth quarterback this season, Josh Johnson.

The Eagles turned the primary crew in NFL historical past to win by scoring greater than 30 factors, whereas permitting lower than 10 factors in consecutive playoff video games (towards the 9-8 New York Giants and a 49ers’ crew sans a quarterback).

The looming query coming into the Tremendous Bowl is are the 2022 Eagles really nice, or lucky?

Will probably be decided in Tremendous Bowl LVII on Sunday, February 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Jalen Hurts accomplished a modest 15 of 25 for 121 yards and scored a third-quarter landing (his fifteenth speeding TD, essentially the most all-time for an NFL quarterback), and rushed for 39 yards. He concerned six totally different receivers, whereas the protection smothered Purdy, then the overmatched Johnson, then Purdy once more.

By then, Purdy couldn’t lob the ball 10 yards and it was obvious.

The Eagles now advance to the Tremendous Bowl for the primary time since 2017 and for the fourth time in franchise historical past, and third time since 2004.

Miles Sanders rushed for 42 yards on 11 carries and scored two touchdowns, and the Eagles rushed for 148 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The Eagles ran 70 performs to the 49ers’ 45 performs, held the Niners to 164 yards of whole offense, 81 yards speeding and recovered three fumbles.

There was a whole lot of good, sprinkled with some dangerous and a few ugly within the Eagles’ 31-7 NFC championship victory over the one-dimensional San Francisco 49ers.

The Good

It begins once more with the inspiration and that’s up entrance in proper sort out Lane Johnson, proper guard Isaac Seumalo, middle Jason Kelce, left guard Landon Dickerson and left sort out Jordan Mailata, and tight finish Dallas Goedert completely manhandling and controlling the 49ers’ protection to the tune of 4 speeding touchdowns, 269 whole yards, 148 approaching the bottom.

Defensive finish Josh Sweat’s three-yard takedown of Christian McCaffrey on the Niners’ first play of the second half. By then, Niners’ coach Kyle Shanahan was wanting within the stands for anybody who might throw a soccer greater than 10 yards.

San Francisco’s back-up quarterback Josh Johnson seemed like he wanted a Rely diaper on the fumble on the Niners’ 30 with 1:11 left within the half. Haason Reddick pounced on the fumble and the Eagles capitalized, heading into halftime with a commanding 21-7 lead on Boston Scott’s 10-yard landing run. Till the final 96 seconds of the half, the Eagles didn’t look good.

Sanders’ second landing, a 13-yard run with 1:36 left within the half. Kelce pulled left and took out linebacker Dre Greenlaw, Dickerson sealed off the Niners’ Kevin Givens, and Mailata manhandled Niners’ finish Samson Ebukam. Sanders went untouched into the top zone for a 14-7 lead—to get a quiet crowd engaged within the sport once more.

Kenneth Gainwell’s 17-yard run simply earlier than the two-minute warning of the primary half, which introduced the ball to the San Francisco 24. On the play, Kelce and Dickerson pulled, Mailata occupied the Niners’ Jordan Willis arising discipline, making a pathway for Gainwell. One other Gainwell 17-yard achieve with 5:00 left within the third quarter got here throughout a vital time, on a third-and-five on the Eagles’ 29. Hurts hit Gainwell, who generated the yards-after-catch by operating by means of a number of Niners’ defenders. Gainwell had a pleasant total sport, speeding for 48 yards on 14 carries and two catches for 26 yards.

On the Niners’ first possession, Reddick’s 10-yard sack on Brock Purdy on a second-and-six on the 50, recovered by Linval Joseph on the Eagles’ 44. On the play, Reddick caught a bit of Purdy’s arm throughout his throwing movement and Purdy sat the rest of the primary half for what San Francisco’s medical crew reported at nerve injury. Reddick’s second sack for minus-9 towards Niners’ back-up quarterback Josh Johnson got here on the Niners’ second drive.

Sanders’ 6-yard landing run had nice blocking from Kelce, proper guard Isaac Seumalo on one facet, and Dickerson and Mailata plowing again Niners’ sort out Javon Kinlaw, and Seumalo teaming with Johnson in shoving again Kerry Hyder.

The Eagles’ opening drive. Hurts went 5 for 7 for 54 yards and transformed a 3rd down and a fourth down. The Eagles went 66 yards over 11 performs, absorbing 5 minutes and 12 seconds off the clock. It was the tenth time the Eagles scored on their opening drive of the sport and featured seven passes, three runs and one San Francisco sack.

The unbelievable one-handed catch by DeVonta Smith (a present, contemplating the replay confirmed Smith really dropping the ball) on fourth-and-three on the San Francisco 35 on the Eagles’ first drive. The 29-yard reception arrange Sanders’ 6-yard landing run and an Eagles’ 7-0 lead. Hurts made the play attainable, rolling left and throwing throughout his physique proper. He motioned to Smith as he was operating, and threw it on the go, when Smith acquired behind Niners’ nickelback Jimmie Ward.

On the Eagles’ fifth total play, they had been confronted with their first third-down. Hurts picked up a blitz by Greenlaw coming straight up the center, and located A.J. Brown for 10 yards on a third-and-eight on the San Francisco 42.

The Unhealthy

With 10:39 left to play, Dickerson coming up holding his proper arm on the elbow and leaving the sport.

Hurts’ 12-yard run with 3:47 left within the third quarter on a first-and-10 on the San Francisco 35. The sport was over. Purdy couldn’t throw. The 49ers had no quarterback and their solely different possibility was to run McCaffrey out of the wildcat, so why danger Hurts? On the finish of the play, you’ll discover, Greenlaw got here in considerably late and threw a proper shoulder into Hurts’ again. Hurts winced for a second earlier than he acquired up. With the Tremendous Bowl at stake, once more, why danger Hurts to harm there? Hurts even admitted earlier than the sport that he was not 100-percent wholesome.

A.J. Brown’s drop on a slant on the Eagles’ second play of the second half on the Eagles’ 20.

How twisted that is, the Eagles’ first half. They went into intermission main 21-7 towards a depleted crew with a quarterback that didn’t know what he was doing. The Eagles didn’t take the lead till the final 1:36 of the half, on Sanders’ second landing and the Scott rating, courtesy of the Niners’ second turnover. Till then, it was a fair sport, which the Eagles ought to had command of after Purdy went out after the primary collection. Hurts later scored a 1-yard landing on that very same drive for a 28-7 Eagles’ lead.

Seumalo getting nailed for a false begin with 4:36 left within the first half, forcing a first-and-15 on the Eagles’ 42.

Linebacker Kyzir White getting beat by McCaffrey on a 9-yard reception to the Eagles’ 25 on San Francisco’s first scoring drive. The Eagles had been woefully operating behind McCaffrey each time he was within the open discipline throughout that possession.

Linebacker T.J. Edwards getting picked off by Niners’ guard Daniel Brunskill on McCaffrey’s 9-yard achieve to the Eagles’ 46 with 11:15 left within the first half.

The Eagles’ second drive, off the Reddick sack and Joseph fumble restoration, and doing nothing with it. The Niners’ shut the Eagles down at midfield.

The miscommunication on the offensive line to permit Niners’ defensive sort out Kevin Givens to slice by means of and pull down Sanders for no achieve on first-and-10 on the Niners’ 42 on the Eagles’ first possession.

The Ugly

McCaffrey’s 23-yard landing run that tied the sport at 7-7 with 8:29 left within the first half—led by fourth-string Niners’ quarterback Josh Johnson. It was a run of will. Eagles’ security Marcus Epps crashed the hole and actually rolled over and missed, cornerback Darius “Huge Play” Slay whiffed at air, security C.J. Gardner-Johnson seemed like he was knocked off of McCaffrey by his personal teammate, sort out Javon Hargrave, and McCaffrey ran free.

Tight finish Jake Stoll getting beat bottom by Greenlaw when Sanders was taken down for a one-yard loss on the Eagles’ 5 on their fourth possession. Then, one play later, Stoll utterly missed Nick Bosa, who took down Hurts for a 3-yard sack. It was not collection for the Eagles’ back-up tight finish, who had no drawback speaking and pointing fingers on the San Francisco particular after the opening kickoff.

Cornerback Josh Jobe with the silly private foul name on the Niners’ punt with 1:59 left within the first quarter, pushing the Eagles again to their 15. What compounded it was Jobe shoved the Niners’ Tarvarius Moore within the face proper in entrance of the referee.

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter primarily based within the Philadelphia space who has written characteristic tales for SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, MLB.com, Deadspin and The Philadelphia Day by day Information. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a particular undertaking piece for ESPN.com referred to as “Love at First Beep.” He’s most famous for his award-winning ESPN.com characteristic on highschool wrestler A.J. Detwiler in February 2006, which appeared on SportsCenter. In 2015, he was elected president of the Boxing Writers Affiliation of America.