FINAL: The @Eagles are your 2022 NFC Champions! #SFvsPHI pic.twitter.com/84hMQwewT1
— NFL (@NFL) January 29, 2023
The Philadelphia Eagles is the first team to advanced to the Super Bowl 2023 after beating the San Francisco 49ers by 31-7 in the NFC championship game on Sunday. the Eagles return to the Super Bowl for the first time since winning it all in the 2017 season.
Philadelphia scored its first touchdown of the NFC Championship on an 11-play, 66-yard drive that was completed by a 6-yard rush by Miles Sanders. When 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy hurt his elbow on San Francisco’s sixth play, things seemed bleak. Brock Purdy had to leave the game in the first half with an elbow injury. He returned in the third quarter after backup Josh Johnson was ruled out with a concussion. Josh Johnson, who replaced Purdy in the first half, led the offence to a second-quarter touchdown while mainly relying on Christian McCaffrey.
The @Eagles are headed to #SuperBowlLVII! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ylpBblUBRP
— NFL (@NFL) January 29, 2023
The 49ers tied the score at 7-7 thanks to a 23-yard McCaffrey scamper. But Jalen Hurts passed for 121 yards and ran for 39 yards and a touchdown. In a game plan that was weaken as it became evident that the quarterback-neutered 49ers had little chance to overturn a 14-point halftime deficit, The 49ers lost both their quarterback in the first 33minutes which made it quite hard for 49ers to come back to the game after halftime deficit.
“So many people doubting Jalen and us,” said pass-rusher Brandon Graham, the longest-tenured Eagle in his 13th season. “We’re going to enjoy this win, but we ain’t done nothing yet. We have to finish the deal. We have one more.”
.@JalenHurts sings "FLY EAGLES FLY" 😂🦅#NFLPlayoffs #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/Ym4cvCxpIS
— NFL (@NFL) January 29, 2023
The 49ers couldn’t only attribute the defeat to the departure of their quarterbacks. A hasty attack by the Eagles that totaled 148 yards and four touchdowns—with two by Sanders, one by Boston Scott, and the other one by Jalen Hurts—had no answer for the NFL’s top-ranked defense. Towards the end of the game, 49ers were looking so helpless that they were committing penalties and fouls. By the end of the game, their 12 match winning streak was broken and they had committed 11 penalties for 81 yards. This is their worst lost in the recent times.
Oh hey, Bradley Cooper! #ItsAPhillyThing
— NFL (@NFL) January 29, 2023
📺: #SFvsPHI on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/FKUP5TcOqi pic.twitter.com/mlmxS4i5Vd
After losing NFC championship, 49ers linebacker Fred Warner said,
“You win for so long,” linebacker Fred Warner said, “you forget what losing feels like.”
the Eagles return to the Super Bowl for the first time since winning it all in the 2017 season. This is their second appearance in the Super Bowl in the last six season. They won Super Bowl in February 2018 by defeating Patriots.
When it hits you you're about to play in a Super Bowl pic.twitter.com/gkjrKxls4Z
— NFL (@NFL) January 29, 2023
After winning Jalen hurts said,
“I never knew how far we’d go,” Hurts said, “but I never said it couldn’t be done.”