The San Francisco 49ers pulled off a sensational 23-19 upset of the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, knocking them out of the NFL playoffs in the Wild Card round.
The already shattered 49ers, without key players like Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and Ricky Pearsall due to injury – among numerous others – also lost talismanic tight end George Kittle in the first half to a torn Achilles that ended his season.
But San Francisco’s playoff run is far from over, as they now head to the Divisional Round next week at the NFC No. 1 seeded Seattle Seahawks.
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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings throws for a trick play touchdown to Christian McCaffrey against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Despite losing Kittle and the 49ers trailing by six in the fourth quarter, they would take the lead on the very next play, a magnificent trick play TD in which receiver Jawan Jennings threw a 29-yard score to Christian McCaffrey.
The Eagles, whose offense stalled badly in the second half – limited to just 23 yards to that point – regained the lead – going up 19-17 – on Brock Purdy’s second interception with eight minutes left.
But Purdy bounced back and led another scoring drive – this time finding McCaffrey in the end zone for what would prove the game-winning score with just under three minutes remaining.
The Eagles converted a 4th-and-5 from their own 45-yard line with the game on the line, eventually driving down to the San Francisco 21-yard line before Jalen Hurts threw three straight incompletions to end the contest — recently acquired 49ers linebacker Eric Kendricks was intent on breaking down key quarterback Dallas Goert.
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Two-touchdown hero Christian McCaffery is ‘proud’ of his San Francisco 49ers team after their playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Statistics Leaders:
49ers
- Passage: Brock Purdy, 18/31, 262 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
- in a hurry: Christian McCaffrey, 15 carries, 48 yards
- Receiving: Demarcus Robinson, 6 catches, 111 yards, 1 TD
Eagles
- Passage: Jalen Hurts, 20/35, 168 yards, 1 TD
- in a hurry: Saquon Barkley, 26 carries, 106 yards
- Receiving: DeVonta Smith, 9 catches, 70 yards
San Francisco burst out of the blocks on offense, scoring on its opening drive, as DeMarcus Robinson followed up a monstrous 61-yard reception on just the second play from scrimmage with a five-yard TD to cap the drive.
Philadelphia responded immediately as Goedert scored his first of two touchdowns in the first half, running this one down at the goal line before hauling in a nine-yard catch in the end zone to give the Eagles the lead in the second quarter.
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Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert scores his first career rushing touchdown and TD in the first half against the San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers, after their explosive start, suddenly stalled offensively due to Kittle’s injury, went three-and-out twice before adding an Eddie Piñero field goal to cut the Eagles’ lead to three at 13-10.
Some bad clocking denied San Francisco a chance to tie things up in the final minute before halftime, which ended with Purdy fumbling out of bounds as the clock ticked down.
Purdy was picked off to end the 49ers’ opening drive of the second half — Quinyon Mitchell dropped both quarterback picks — but an increasingly anemic Eagles offense couldn’t capitalize on the mistake.
A Jake Elliott field goal late in the third quarter would push Philly’s lead to six once again, at 16-10, before the 49ers rallied in spectacular fashion in the final quarter to pull off a remarkable road win over the defending champs and keep their Super Bowl dreams alive.
Watch every minute of the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium live on Sky Sports NFL.