The 2023 NFC Championship Game between the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles was one of the most anticipated title games in recent memory as the top two-seeded teams in the conference went to battle. The Eagles rushing attack and their league-leading pass rush was too much to handle for the Niners, thus leading to a 31-7 Philadelphia win.
Philadelphia’s running game was terrific, as four ball carriers had at least twenty yards on the ground. Kenneth Gainwell led the way for the Eagles again with 48 yards, followed by Miles Sanders with 42 yards, Jalen Hurts with 39 yards, and Boston Scott with 21 yards. To add on, Sanders ran for two touchdowns, and Hurts and Scott also had a touchdown a piece on the ground.
As for the Eagles defense, it was another star-studded performance for Haason Reddick, who had two sacks and caused a fumble by hitting the ball out of Brock Purdy’s hand. Joining Reddick with solid performances were Ndamukong Suh, Javon Hargrave, and T.J. Edwards.
Philadelphia’s pass rush continues to impress, and they will look to keep things going in the Super Bowl against an excellent pass protection team in the Chiefs; it should be much fun to watch.
As for the 49ers, to go back to when Reddick caused a fumble against Purdy, Purdy was injured on that same play and could not throw a ball again. That incident occurred in the first quarter of the contest and would lead journeyman QB Josh Johnson to enter the game.
In the third quarter, Johnson suffered a head injury that would have him ruled out for the remainder of the contest and thus forcing San Fran to put the injured Purdy back into the game as there was no other active quarterback on the roster.
The 49ers would end up running on every play for the rest of the game besides maybe one or two plays in which Purdy threw a two-yard screen pass. Unfortunately for the Niners, the injury bug at the QB position caught up to them, and they could no longer overcome it. Something of note, it was a tremendous game for superstar running back Christian McCaffrey who had 106 total yards and a touchdown.
As for their defense, it was a solid performance for a couple of guys like Arik Armstead and some secondary members in Deommodore Lenoir and Charvarius Ward. Ultimately, the defense was on the field for most of the game and thus could not stop one of the best offenses in the league for such a long period of time.
All in all, it was a manhandling Eagles victory and an unfortunate end to an injury-riddled yet impressive season by the 49ers.
The Eagles will now travel to Arizona to face off against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.
Let us know what you think about the Eagles eliminating the 49ers and advancing to the Super Bowl by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
