The Eagles won’t be the next team to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
Christian McCaffrey scored two touchdowns in the second half and the 49ers defense was able to come up with a fourth down stop in the final minute to seal a 23-19 road win. The victory sets the 49ers up for their second matchup with Seattle in the last three weeks and they’ll be hoping for a different outcome than the loss they suffered against the Seahawks in Week 18.
The 49ers’ win also means that the Rams will travel to Chicago to face the Bears in the divisional round.
McCaffrey’s first touchdown catch came on a 29-yard pass from wide receiver Jauan Jennings on the first play of the fourth quarter. It extended McCaffrey’s streak of postseason games with a touchdown to eight — which is also his total postseason appearances — and McCaffrey found the end zone again with under three minutes to play.
A Jake Elliott field goal had put the Eagles back up 19-17, but Brock Purdy hit Demarcus Robinson and McCaffrey for first downs and the Eagles had a sack wiped out by a defensive holding penalty during the drive. Purdy then delivered a touchdown pass to McCaffrey on a third down from the Eagles’ 4-yard line. Eddy Pineiro missed the extra point, but the Eagles still needed a touchdown to win the game.
It looked like a drop by wide receiver A.J. Brown might bring the drive to a quick end, but Jalen Hurts hit tight end Dallas Goedert for a fourth down conversion. Hurts got the Eagles to the 20-yard line with a pair of throws to wide receiver DeVonta Smith, but a one-yard sack and three straight incompletions brought an end to any hopes of a Super Bowl repeat in Philadelphia.
The Eagles had a 13-10 lead, but their offense failed to pick up momentum in the second half. They had three three-and-outs to go with a pair of Elliott field goals and the long offensive slumps that were a theme of their season will need to be addressed in an offseason that’s starting earlier than anyone in Philly would have hoped.
The 49ers will head to Seattle without tight end George Kittle. Kittle was ruled out with an Achilles injury in the second quarter and it will be a great surprise if the word is anything other than a torn tendon. Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson stepped up with six catches for 111 yards and a touchdown and the Niners will need others to do the same if they’re going to upset the Seahawks and return to the NFC Championship Game for the fifth time under head coach Kyle Shanahan.
