The NFC Wild Card Weekend wrapped up Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field. The defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles hosted the San Francisco 49ers. The champs were leading heading into the fourth quarter, before things started to crumble beneath them. How could a 5.5-point underdog dethrone the dynasty?
It was a tight, low-scoring, defensive battle. The Eagles’ defense was the best thing on the field, even headed into the fourth quarter. Cornerback Quinyon Mitchell caught the only two interceptions of the game. Leaning on that, combined with the 131 yards from running back Saquon Barkley, the home team was up 16-10 entering the final frame.
The 49ers took a massive blow in the second quarter. Tight end George Kittle suffered what TSN confirms as a season-ending Achilles injury. Eagles safety Marcus Epps pushed him out of bounds after a short reception, before Kittle was carted off the field
San Francisco worked some magic early in the fourth quarter, with a 29-yard passing touchdown from wide receiver Jauan Jennings to running back Christian McCaffrey. This gave them their first lead since the 06:16 mark in the opening quarter.
Philadelphia’s offense never really found rhythm, scoring only two field goals in the second half. 49ers’ quarterback Brock Purdy led the team down the field in the final few minutes of the game. Capping a 10-play drive that ate up 05:06 of the clock, he threw a 4-yard touchdown to McCaffrey, for the running back’s second of the evening.
With 02:54 remaining, the Eagles certainly had an opportunity, but the offensive woes continued. The scoring concluded at that point, with the 49ers pulling out the 23-19 upset.
Philadelphia will go home and try to figure out how it wasted such a talented roster. San Francisco has the daunting task of playing a rested, first-ranked Seattle Seahawks team at home.
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