The NFC Championship Game was over early, even if plenty of time remained.
On the 49ers’ sixth offensive snap, Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick had a strip-sack of Brock Purdy that injured Purdy’s right elbow. Purdy had to return when Josh Johnson was knocked out by Ndamukong Suh and left with a concussion, but Purdy was unable to throw.
The Eagles won easily 31-7, advancing to Super Bowl LVII in two weeks. They will play the winner of the Chiefs-Bengals game.
The Eagles last played in the Super Bowl in 2017 when they beat Tom Brady‘s Patriots 41-33 to win Super Bowl LII.
Philadelphia dominated the 49ers, who had three turnovers, two injured quarterbacks, 11 penalties for 81 yards and failed to challenge an early fourth-down catch that wasn’t a catch by DeVonta Smith that led to an early 7-0 lead.
Reddick and running back Kenneth Gainwell starred.
Reddick had three tackles, two sacks, a quarterback hit, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble in the first half. Gainwell had 14 carries for 48 yards and two catches for 26 yards.
Jalen Hurts completed 15 of 25 passes for 121 yards and ran for 39 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. His 15 rushing touchdowns in the regular season and postseason are an NFL record for quarterbacks.
Miles Sanders rushed for 42 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.
What could go wrong did for the 49ers, and they played with a hand tied behind their back after losing Purdy on the first drive. Purdy finished 4-of-4 for 23 yards and Johnson was 7-of-13 for 74 yards.
Running back Christian McCaffrey also threw a pass, which was incomplete, and had 19 touches for 106 yards and the team’s only touchdown. The 49ers had only 164 yards.
The 49ers played four quarterbacks this season, losing Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo to injuries in the regular season.