PHILADELPHIA − The 49ers are playing in their third NFC Championship game in four years, winning one and losing one.
Their core players have all been in this situation before, so the Lincoln Financial Field crowd will not be a distraction for them. Quarterback Brock Purdy is a different story as he is making only his eighth NFL start, and just his third on the road.
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No doubt, the crowd, not to mention the Eagles’ pass rush, will be a factor.
And it was right away when the 49ers got their first possession after the Eagles scored on the opening drive.
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 Haason 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. Veteran journeyman Josh Johnson took over on the 49ers next possession. Reddick sacked him, too, and the 49ers punted.
Hurts’ experience in big games
But what about Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts? There is so much riding on his 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.
Eagles coach Nick 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.
