Eagles advance to Super Bowl beating 49ers; Philly’s 2nd NFC title in 5 years

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Philadelphia Eagles are going to the Super Bowl and will play the winner of tonight’s AFC Championship Game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Hurts, Eagles pound Giants early, coast to NFC title game

They beat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-7, Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This is the Eagles second trip to the Big Game since 2017 and their fourth in franchise history. They will be going for their second Super Bowl title on February 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

They won it in 2017 beating the New England Patriots, 41-33, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: NFC title game a Philly reunion for 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans

Philadelphia took the opening kickoff and drove 66-yards on 11 plays. Jalen Hurts threw a 29-yard pass to DeVonta Smith. who made a one-handed catch on fourth and three, advancing to the 49er six-yard line. Two players, Miles Sanders ran six-yards for a touchdown and the Eagles led, 7-0.

The 49ers lost starting Brock Purdy to an elbow injury on their first series when he was sacked by Hasson Reddick, fumbled the ball and Linval Joseph recovered. Former University of San Diego quarterback Josh Johnson replaced him.

San Francisco drew even in the second quarter taking advantage of a short punt and started at the Eagle 46-yard line. Christian McCaffrey’s 23-yard touchdown run tied the game at 7-7 with 8:29 left in the first half.

>>49ers QB Purdy suffers elbow injury in NFC championship game

Philadelphia countered with a 14 play, 75-yard scoring drive. They took advantage of an illegal contact penalty called on Charvarius Ward giving them a fresh set of downs. Two plays later, Sanders ran 13-yards for a touchdown as the Eagles reclaimed the lead, 14-7.

On San Francisco’s next series, Josh Johnson fumbled the snap and Reddick recovered at the 49ers 30-yard line. Philadelphia took advantage with a 10-yard touchdown run by Bart Scott to increase their advantage to 21-7 at halftime.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 49ers-Eagles NFC championship matchup has old-school feel

Purdy returned in the third quarter after Johnson was hurt in the third quarter.

Each team exchanged punts to start the second half and the Eagles were punting on 4th and 6 from midfield but the 49ers were called for roughing the punter giving the Eagles a fresh set of downs. Hurts capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 28-7 after three quarters.

Frustration grew for the 49ers as the game came to a conclusion when offensive lineman Trent Williams and K’Von Wallace were ejected for fighting with 4:19 remaining.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Wide receivers Brown, Smith form ‘Dynamic Duo’ for Eagles

This will be Philadelphia’s fourth trip to the Super Bowl. They went to Super Bowl XV in 1981 losing to the Oakland Raiders, 27-10. The Eagles lost Super Bowl XXXIX to the New England Patriots, 24-21. Philadelphia won Super Bowl LII, 41-33, over the Patriots.

The Eagles will play either Cincinnati or Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on February 12.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

©2023 Cox Media Group