This is the live blog for the NFC Championship Game between the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. I will provide updates and analysis from the press box throughout the game.
10:30 49ers inactives: Elijah Mitchell, Drake Jackson, Ty Davis-Price, Nick Zakelj, Ross Dwelley, Ambry Thomas, Jimmy Garoppolo
10:45 Eagles inactives: Ian Book, Josiah Scott, Trey Sermon, Anthony Harris, Kyron Johnson, Josh Sills
10:50 Here are my five keys to a 49ers victory today.
11:50 Took a walk around the stadium concourse to get the feel of things. This is definitely not a similar atmosphere to SoFi Stadium last year. Saw an Eagles fan jump in front of a guy wearing a 49ers jeresey and scream “E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES” in his face.
12:03 49ers have won the toss and deferred. Eagles will receive the opening kickoff.
12:07 Fred Warner tackles Miles Sanders on the second play of the game and is down with an injury. The linebacker sprints off the field before going to the blue tent for observation.
12:16 49ers defense does a good job of forcing Philadelphia into a 4th and 3. Eagles go for it and Jalen Hurts hits DeVonta Smith deep down the left sideline over Jimmie Ward for a gain of 29.
San Francisco did a good job of pressuring Hurts throughout the drive, but the big play leads to an Eagles touchdown.
Miles Sanders walks in untouched from six yards out.
Eagles 7 49ers 0
12:26 Tyler Kroft gets beat by Haason Reddick forcing a fumble. Brock Purdy’s arm hit the ball forward and Philadelphia recovers at the 44.
How is Tyler Kroft blocking one of the Eagles best pass rushers?
12:30 Huge stop by the 49ers defense in a sudden change situation. A pair of run stops and good pressure by Nick Bosa on second down forcing Hurts to take the checkdown.
12:36 The 49ers need to stop trying to block Haasan Reddick with a tight end. He has two huge sacks already.
12:38 Huge scare on the punt. Nick Bosa standing along the sideline gets hit in the right knee by an Eagles player. He was down for a couple minutes but has now jogged onto the field.
12:44 Nick Bosa down again, this time he’s holding his other knee. He’s in the blue tent.
1245 Good stop by the 49ers defense after a quick first down for Philadelphia.
12:48 49ers get great field position following the punt and a personal foul penalty on Philadelphia.
Josh Johnson hits Deebo Samuel for a gain of nine to the Eagles 41 as the first quarter ends. If the 49ers pull this out with their 4th string quarterback it will be a miracle.
Eagles 7 49ers 0
12:55 49ers pick up a first down. Then a delay of game and sack move them back and they are forced to punt.
They have no chance in the passing game.
1:00 Dre Greenlaw and Nick Bosa get tackles for loss on first and second down and Hurts throws high for a quick three and out.
Terrific field position again for the 49ers offense.
1:06 The 49ers make good on the field position. Christian McCaffrey with a pair of receptions for 9 yards before running over the Eagles defense for a 23-yard touchdown. He was responsible for 44 of the 49ers 46 yards on that possession.
McCaffrey bounced off at least three Eagles before sprinting into the endzone. WOW!
49ers 7 Eagles 7
1:19 The 49ers defense had the Eagles stopped twice on this possession but pass interference and illegal hands to the face have allowed Philadelphia to keep moving. They are at the San Francisco 24 as the two-minute warning hits.
1:27 Philadelphia takes advantage of the 49ers three penalties. Miles Sanders runs the ball in from the 13 to give Philadelphia the lead.
The Eagles have found something they like over the left side. Kenneth Gainwell also popped one over the left side for a gain of 17 a few plays before the touchdown.
Eagles 14 49ers 7
1:32 Josh Johnson hits Deebo Samuel for a gain of 11 but drops the snap on the next play and Philadelphia recovers at the 49ers 30.
1:35 Dre Greenlaw gets called for a personal foul and the Eagles score on the next play. The defense has played well but keeps hurting themselves with penalties to extend drives.
Eagles 21 49ers 7
This one feels like it is over.
1:52 San Francisco gained more yards per play than Philadelphia in the first half, but self-inflicted wounds have been the story of the game.
Brock Purdy injured his elbow when he was his hit, the ball coming out and hitting his arm before flying forward and being recovered by the Eagles. Late in the half Purdy’s backup, Josh Johnson, dropped a snap and Philadelphia took over at the 49ers 30.
The defensive side has also hurt themselves. Despite making several plays, the 49ers defense gave up four first downs by penalty to extend Eagles possessions.
San Francisco will get the ball to open the second half down 21-7.
2:00 Johnson completes a pass to George Kittle for 22-yards. A few plays later he is hit while throwing and now he’s in the blue medical tent being evaluated. The 49ers bring Purdy back in to hand the ball off to McCaffrey on third and long.
San Francisco may be down to Kyle Juszczyk or Christian McCaffrey at quarterback.
2:11 After a quick three and out by the 49ers defense, it was Brock Purdy back in at quarterback. I don’t think he can throw the ball more than 10 yards right now.
A pair of runs followed by a screen, and Philadelphia has the ball again.
2:19 The defense gets off the field, but the mistakes continue. Jordan Mason roughs the punter and it’s a fresh set of downs for Philadelphia at the 49ers 35.
3:03 Philadelphia will be the NFC representative in the Super Bowl.
Best of luck to our Niners!
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Elijah Mitchell 🤦🏻♂️
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Surprised that Price sits. He is faster than his replacement. Mason needs to be at the top of his game.
Jack, congrats to becoming an accredited reporter!
You deserve it!
3 plays in and already we have a lousy kick off and Warner down with what could be a real injury. Yikes!
Whew, Fred is back.
Well already a huge mistake by our coaching staff. They didn’t challenge that catch by Smith which was not a catch. Would have been a turnover of the ball to the 49ers.
A TE block their best pass rusher, that’s a joke.
Was that on McGlinchey or the TE?
Also, Kyle blows time outs all the time. why wouldn’t he call one on that Devonta Smith non-catch to double check?
You need to ask. This game couldn’t be starting any worse.
I was yelling at my TV to challenge that D. Smith catch, but Kyle wasn’t up to the task! WTF? That one mishap by Kyle very well could have cost them this game!
Niners came to play, but Kyle … not so much! Inexcusable!
And where the heck is Jordan Mason?
Actually, the defense has played well so far. They really did stop the Eagles on both drives.
Game over! Josh Johnson time.
Well this couldn’t start any worse, but who knows, maybe the defense holds and Purdy can make it back. You never know!
At this rate Jihnson won’t last long. Kyle needs to get a clue, TE can’t block Reddick!
To all my detractors, naysayers, deniers, and deriders, I told you Shanahan would muck things up and so he is. Watch live. Please.
One of the stupidest comments ever.
I don’t feel comfortable at all with Josh Johnson in there. Purdy needs to come back if for nothing than just handing off or check downs.
Johnson is terrible. I’d rather see an injured Purdy in there, if he can go at all.
You just can’t expect magic with a 4th string QB. It has been an amazing run through three of them. They will need the defense to pitch a shut out the rest if the way to have a chance. Only real hope is Purdy’s elbow loosens up.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Johnson will play better and that Purdy will get back. Our defense is dominating.
Yeah. Defense has actually played great. The problem is they will start to tire out especially if the offense can sustain any long drives.
In Kyle’s defense, if you’re down to your 4th QB of the season, you can’t expect to make the Super Bowl. That said, Kyle’s having a rough first half, and with his inherent conservative mindset, to call this game an uphill battle would be an understatement!
Hats off to the defense though, they came to play …. yet again!
I predicted we would see Brock hurt in this game. I just could not watch it come true. We now lose 4 QB’s in one season..a record!
We’re in it to win it.
CMac is the MVP of this offense. Johnson looking a bit better. Maybe, just maybe….
That was all CMC! He wanted that drive big time!
But Kyle is calling too many passes. Have some damn trust in Mason. They need to be punching with both fists against Philadelphia’s weakness against the run. Instead Kyle just keeps going against the strength with so many passes. Not sure that is wise.
Agreed! Come Kyle, let’s rush the ball down their throats!
CMC …. WOW!
Kinlaw is a liability on defense. Get him out of the game. You’d be better off playing with 10 players on defense.
They are playing with 10 players.
These penalties are intolerable.
Now the run defense has just gotten gashed badly on this drive. Kyle should take note.
At a minimum offense needs to hold on to the ball till half time and not give the Eagles another chance this half.
Run out the clock and hope Purdy can return 2nd half.
Last thing we need is a Josh Johnson dead duck.
For fks sake what is wrong with Kyle? We could see this coming from 2500 miles away.
Kyle is having a terrible game. Absolutely terrible.
Yeppers
Kyle’s big game demons are getting the best of him yet again. It’s not all his fault, but he’s certainly not helping. Jordan Mason ZERO carries in the first half. Unacceptable!
Josh Johnson with the double panic move. Drops the ball for no reason, then is unable to fall on it. If Philly gets 7 this is the nail in the coffin. No way this team can score 3 TD’s with Johnson in.
We’d be lucky to score 3 points with Johnson in there.
And there it is.
Cursed. Cursed, I tell ya.
This game is on Kyle. What an idiot. His choking in big games continues.
And what was he planning to do with all three timeouts in his pocket with 16 seconds left? Maybe umm use one to check the Devonta Smith non-catch just to make sure?
Believe it or not this game would be tied if not for Shanahan’s absolute bullshift game management right now.
Enjoying the game and your always prescient commentary, Felix@!
Kyle who drinks his own bath water could not tell me there wasn’t a better option in free agency than josh Johnson 🤦♂️ seriously he will never win a superbowl cause his own head is up his ass
Career backup Josh Johnson to start in championship game?
Told everyone on this blog weeks ago that Kyle would find a way to muck things up, and I was scoffed, ridiculed, told i did not understand football. Well what do you all say now, Felix especially? You guys owe me an apology. A big one.
Are you insane. You’ve just proven to every on this blog that you know nothing about football.
How fitting that Kyle decided to take all three timeouts with him to the locker room. As if one of those wouldn’t have come in handy challenging a certain fourth down catch that led to a touchdown.
Kyle needs to be sent to the blue tent ASAP.
Can we give a HC/OC a F grade if he loses his starting QB in a game like this? Probably not, but he’s at the bottom end of a D- at this point.
Now if we had Kaep as a backup, we would still be in the game!
Why did KS pick this miserable JJ QB???
Hey Jack, are you ready to acknowledge the O-line issues that have been staring you in the face all year yet?
At some point Kyle is going to have to learn to value pass protection. Every year but one has seen multiple QB’s. Too many mediocre to bad pass blockers, you can’t expect to win championships playing 3 QB’s in most of your seasons as coach. At some point you have to spend real draft capital and hit on an o-lineman.
Do you seriously think Shanahan doesn’t value pass blocking?
He over values run blocking and tries to go cheap with his o-linemen. A center from the NFL Goodwill Store. A guard from the 4th round expected to start right away. A mediocre RT. Look at Philadelphia with what seems to be considered the best offensive and defensive lines. That is how you build a powerhouse.
49s will never win a superbowl while Kyle is coach he is way to arrogant and believes his own hype o line been a problem for two years has done nothing about it thinks he can duck and weave because he listens to all the sh…t that he is a great play caller trade deebo get some picks free up salary go get a RT get another tight end and give rookies more of a chance the more u play them the better they will get.
Niners are done. Mason seemed to be blocked somewhat onto the punter. But Huf with the low class d**k move.
Mason was BLATENTLY held, and the hold ended up making him run into the kicker.
As Roy Orbison would say and sing, “It’s Over.”
The allout blocking the kick was unnecessary at that point in the game. There was still plenty of time to get back in the game. Now, it really is over.
It’s hard to have a game like this but, in effect, every decision the coach has made today has gone wrong. Horribly wrong.
It’s hard to win with the referees playing for the Eagles
So now the refs are just piling on.
Well at least unlike the last 5 playoff runs the Niners aren’t going to choke at the end of the game. This game was never a contest, and it was bad from the aweful opening kickoff.
Four quaterbacks in one season what does that tell you Kyle 🤣🤣🤣🤣
49ers are losing this game for one reason. 49ers interior O- line is not good. 4 QBs knocked out during the year. They’ve given up 14 points because Johnson sucks. 49ers could have kept Laken and had Creed Humphrey & Aaron Banks in the same draft with Trey Lance. That would be a top 5 O-line. It’s roster malpractice and 4 QBs have paid the price.
Calling John Lynch
KS has some elite traits, but his flaws will never allow him to take a team all the way. Sorry, but that’s the way it is.
Crazy
No, 1.6, that’s not it ay all dude. The 49ers are losing because their QB got hurt, and can’t throw, and their backup QB probably will never be more than a 3rd stringer at this point.
I do question Kyle’s game plan though. It didn’t help that Elijah Mitchell is made out of glass, but I still don’t know why we didn’t see a heavy dose of 235 lbs – Jordan Mason, who is probably their best pure RB at this point.
This to me was Kyle’s greatest sin, and why I give him an D- grade, regardless of the QB situation! Kyle failed from the first series on today, and his big-game demons got the best of him …. AGAIN!
No, 1.6, that’s not it ay all dude. The 49ers are losing because their QB got hurt, and can’t throw.
Stating the obvious isn’t popular among angry fans who speak without thought.
Trey Lance got injured because Al Woods treated Jake Bendel like a pinata.
Jimmy Garoppolo got hurt because the 49ers couldn’t block the Dolphins d-line.
Brock Purdy got hurt because the 49ers couldn’t block the Eagles d-line.
Josh Johnson got hurt because the 49ers couldn’t block the Eagles d-line.
This isn’t hard to figure out unless you’re stupid. Hope you concentrate hard and figure out a way to figure it out my stupid friend.
1.9,
Haha! Get a grip.
See everyone next season. I’m taking a Sunday afternoon nap.
Greenlawn has been great this year. But he is one of the stupidest players I have ever seen. Just collects so many unnecessary moronic penalties.
There’s a lack of discipline on this team that comes through big time when they are in a losing situation. I just saw that Fangio was hired by the Dolphins. Who is going to replace Ryans? Another young coach unable to get this defense to play with discipline?
Most of the eagles yards come from the referees.
Personal Foul, abusing the football – worst officiating I’ve ever seen – not a fan of either team but we need to pull the financials of this crew. Are you kidding me
Wow! This is the most class-less display in franchise history. Talk about sore losers. I hope half the oline is thrown out.
In recent weeks, they were talking about activating Jimmy G for backup role in playoffs. Wonder if their lack of interest in Jimmy G cursed them in this game.
Josh Johnson may be at best a practice squad QB and should never made it to the game.
Trey Lanes stock just went up
Saw my fist 49er game in 1954. Had season tickets from 1971 to 1995. If they keep Shanahan and let DeMeco Ryans go i’m done!
And at some point we need to have a conversation about ELIJAH MITCHELL. He’s a very talented RB, but his body is clearly not cut out for the rigors of the NFL, IMO!
It sure appears that way.
Trade Kyle go and get Sean Payton if Kyle stays there has to be a offensive coordinator who comes up with something different doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity.
It was a poorly called game from Kyle, and not having a run-heavy gameplan, or even giving Jordan Mason a single carry, especially after the game was tied at 7-7, is a borderline fireable offense, but Kyle did enough this year to earn a couple more seasons, IMO, unless he melts down in yet another postseason game again next season.
JJ Watt
@JJWatt
·
2h
Maybe stop leaving one of the top pass rushers in the league 1 on 1 with a TE…
Yah, JJ WATT is 100% correct. How this game wasn’t a run heavy attack early on, is simply beyond my comprehension! Sometimes I simply don’t understand how Kyle’s brain works. More proof that Kyle is an outstanding offensive minded HC with chronic, big-game jitters and brain farts.
Kyle ALWAYS forgets about the run when it gut check time.
And what about Jimmy G smiling and having a good time on the sideline as the 9ers were getting beatup? I was a big fan, but he’s disappointed me. Probably felt some revenge based on how the team has treated him. But still, can’t have that. He needs to go for sure.
Agreed, cubus. I also saw that on the broadcast, and was instantly annoyed.
Kinkaw and Elijah belong to Social Security payroll.
Josh Johnson was a joke. 3 delay of game penalties. You are suppose to be a professional. Your play was the worst I have ever seen. Deer in the headlights ? Wow. Lucky I don’t own the team. You can walk home. You are so fired. Wake up. Pathetic display. 14 teams in 15 years ? Wonder why.