Wild Card Recap: 49ers Dethrone Eagles to Advance to the Divisional Round
On Sunday afternoon, the San Francisco 49ers edged past the Philadelphia Eagles to advance to the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. Despite winning Super Bowl LIX, the Eagles have struggled to find their footing this season, while the 49ers have surprised the NFL with their success this season.
Sunday’s game was all about the matchup between the Eagles’ defense and the 49ers’ offense. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has led one of the best passing defenses in the league, with two All-Pro nods in the Philadelphia secondary. On the other hand, the 49ers have one of the best passing offenses in the NFL, led by head coach Kyle Shanahan.
On the first drive of the game, San Francisco stormed down the field with ease. Quarterback Brock Purdy threw a 61-yard pass to wide receiver Demarcus Robinson to put them in Eagles territory. Purdy and Robinson connected again for a touchdown to give San Francisco the early lead. The Eagles quickly responded with a touchdown drive of their own. Tight end Dallas Goedert scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown. Although, kicker Jake Elliot missed the extra point.
Both teams went scoreless for the rest of the first quarter, but both were able to put points on the board at the beginning of the second quarter. Goedert found the endzone again with a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts. The 49ers were able to get down the field and secure a field goal. During the drive, Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle went down with an Achilles injury and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
The offenses on both sides of the field struggled throughout the remainder of the half and the beginning of the third quarter. Purdy threw an interception to Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, but Philadelphia was unable to capitalize on the turnover.
San Francisco’s offense started to find momentum during the fourth quarter. A trick play, involving a pass from wide receiver Jauan Jennings to running back Christian McCaffery, put the 49ers up 17-16. The Eagles’ offense continued to struggle, but the defense kept them in the game with another interception from Mitchell. They capitalized on the turnover with a field goal by Elliot.
Purdy led the 49ers down the field with multiple big gains through the air. The drive ended in a 4-yard touchdown reception by McCaffery. It gave San Francisco a 4-point lead and ultimately became the game-winning drive.
“To play like [Purdy] did on that last drive, especially after two throws like that,” Shanahan said. “He was unbelievable.”
Philadelphia needed a touchdown to seal the game and found momentum through the air. Hurts had three big completions to get the Eagles to the 21-yard line. However, Hurts was sacked and threw multiple incompletions in their final offensive plays, and the Eagles turned it over on downs.
While the reigning Super Bowl champions are eliminated from the playoffs, the 49ers look ahead to their next postseason matchup against a team they know well. San Francisco will face its NFC West rival, the Seattle Seahawks, next Sunday to see who will advance to the NFC Championship game.