PHILADELPHIA − The Eagles seemed to have everything going their way early.
They scored on the opening drive, after DeVonta Smith’s acrobatic catch on fourth down gave the Eagles a first down at the 49ers’ 6 yard line.
Then on the 49ers first series, rookie quarterback sensation Brock Purdy was injured as he was hit on a strip-sack by Eagles’ pass rusher Haason Reddick. Purdy is the 49ers’ third quarterback this season. He was replaced by 36-year-old Josh Johnson, who’s on his 14th NFL team in 15 seasons.
And, of course, the Eagles’ fans at Lincoln Financial Field were in a frenzy. But the Eagles sputtered on offense as the 49ers defense tightened up, and Christian McCaffrey’s 23-yard TD run in the second quarter tied the game.
Then the Eagles took over, scoring twice in the last 1:36 of the half to take a 21-7 lead, just 30 minutes away from the Super Bowl.
Miles Sanders started it with a 13-yard TD run. Then Johnson, the 49ers’ 4th QB, fumbled the snap and the Eagles recovered at San Francisco’s 30. Boston Scott then scored on a 10-yard touchdown run with 16 seconds left in the half.
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But it was tough sledding for the Eagles against the NFL’s top-ranked defense. From the start of the second drive until the final two drives, the Eagles had just 5 yards of total offense and one first down.
Hurts and Sanders had little running room. Hurts had minus-1 yards on 4 carries on the first half. He was 13 of 19 for 97 yards passing. Even there, the 49ers had good coverage on A.J. Brown and Smith, although Hurts did overthrow an open Brown on one play that could’ve gone for a TD.
And when Hurts completed passes over the middle, the 49ers tackled right away.
Purdy leaves with injury
Purdy had completed his first two passes, but the 49ers faced a 3rd-and-6 from the 50. Purdy dropped back to pass and Reddick hit him as he threw. The ball fluttered into the air and fell incomplete as T.J. Edwards dove trying to intercept it.
But the Eagles challenged the ruling, saying Reddick hit Purdy’s arm before it went forward. The replay review confirmed the Eagles’ challenge and the Eagles took over.
Purdy, however, left the game with an elbow injury. His return was listed as questionable. Johnson took over on the 49ers next possession. Reddick sacked him, too, and the 49ers punted. Purdy would try throwing on the sideline in between possessions, but he didn’t return in the first half.
Hurts’ experience in big games
There is so much riding on Hurts’ shoulders, especially his right one that Eagles coach Nick Sirianni admitted is still getting treatment. Getting to the Super Bowl in his second full season as a starter, and just one year away from being eligible for a contract extension, will no doubt cement his status as an Eagles icon.
Yet just like Purdy, this is Hurts’ first NFC Championship game. It’s the same for many Eagles. Only seven players on the current 53-man roster remain from their last conference title game five years ago. Of the Eagles’ skill position players, only A.J. Brown has played in a conference championship game, as a rookie with the Tennessee Titans in 2019.
That doesn’t mean the Eagles’ young players haven’t played in big games.
Hurts, for example, was in the college football playoffs, or the football version of the final four, all four of his seasons. He was teammates with wide receiver DeVonta Smith and left guard Landon Dickerson for two of those seasons at Alabama. Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean were on the 2021 Georgia team that won the national championship.
Sirianni said that counts for something.
“Big time,” Sirianni said. “Playing in big games, that’s why you want guys like that from those types of programs. They’ve played in the biggest spotlight in college for the biggest prize … That’s super helpful because it’s not that you treat it any different, but you’ve been in that scenario before.”
“I think every moment is teachable and valuable,” Hurts said. “This is a new moment. I don’t really look into the past, or even the future. I just get ready for this game.”
What a catch by DeVonta Smith
The Eagles got on the board first, taking the opening kickoff and driving down the field. But it was Smith who saved the Eagles with an acrobatic catch that set up Miles Sanders’ 6-yard run.
The Eagles faced a 3rd-and-10 from the 49ers’ 42 when Hurts a short pass to Dallas Goedert for 7 yards, setting up 4th-and-3.
The Eagles passed on a 53-yard field goal attempt. Instead, Hurts dropped back, moved to his left and threw a high-arching pass down the left sideline. It appeared too far for Smith, who turned and reached up with his left hand, somehow hauling in the pass at the 6-yard line for a first down.
Sanders scored on the next play.
Eagles’ DBs healthy for 1st time in months
The Eagles are getting a key component of their secondary back as nickel corner Avonte Maddox returns after missing the previous three games with a toe injury.
It’ll mark the first time both Maddox and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson have been in the lineup together since Nov. 3 against Houston. Maddox left that game with a hamstring injury and went on injured reserve, returning Dec. 11. By then, Gardner-Johnson was out with a lacerated kidney.
Gardner-Johnson returned Jan. 1, but Maddox was out with his toe injury.
The Eagles’ inactives were QB Ian Book, CB Josiah Scott, RB Trey Sermon, S Anthony Harris, LB Kyron Johnson and G Josh Sills. The Eagles had given Harris the practice-squad elevation.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.