The San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles will open up Championship Sunday in what should be a very interesting and physical clash of a pair of teams with elite defenses and young stars manning the quarterback position.
After 17 weeks and a couple of rounds in the NFL Playoffs, the 49ers and Eagles are the last teams standing in the NFC. It is a fitting matchup because the NFC East and West division champions were two of the best teams in the league all season and seemed on a postseason collision course.
The winner on Sunday will punch a ticket to Super Bowl LVII and likely be a favorite to win it all in the eyes of many NFL observers. Because when it comes time to win championships, a great defense is the ultimate trump card, and both franchises have nasty defensive squads.
Related: San Francisco 49ers vs Philadelphia Eagles – 4 bold predictions
Below, you can find highlights from the NFC Championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles, as well as notable stats and a brief preview of key facets of the matchup.
49ers vs Eagles NFC Championship highlights
Bookmark this page for the latest 49ers versus Eagles score and the highlights capturing every touchdown and game-defining play.
Before the NFC Championship even kicked off, the two teams that own ferocious defenses and gritty offenses tried to start things early as it got a little chippy between the two teams during pregame.
The high level of physicality this title game is expected to have was put on display early when star San Francisco linebacker Fred Warner seemed to get his bell rung on a tackle on the opening drive. Fortunately for the 49ers, he quickly returned to the field and was back making plays.
The Eagles were rolling early in the first quarter when Hurts made a terrific throw and DeVonta Smith delivered an even better playoff-best catch that continued a strong drive to begin the game.
Philadelphia capped off their phenomenal start to the game by posting points on the board first as Pro Bowl running back Miles Sanders ran in a TD to give Philly an early 7-0 lead.
After failed drives from both teams, the 49ers got their second chance with the ball in the first quarter and were hit with a major blow literally and figuratively. During a play, Brock Purdy was hit on his arm during an attempted pass. He eventually left the field and is listed as questionable with an elbow injury. Veteran Josh Johnson replaced him at quarterback.
With everything going on, San Francisco still found itself down just 7-0 midway through the second quarter with third-stringer Josh Johnson in at quarterback.
Playing the field of possession game, the 49ers started their latest drive at Philadelphia’s 46-yard line. Like clockwork, Christian McCaffrey tied it up with an absolutely insane 23-yard touchdown with 8:29 remaining in the half.
San Francisco is going to need much more of this from CMC and its stars in order for the team to advance to Super Bowl LVII. Following the TD run from McCaffrey, Eagles counterpart Miles Sanders continued his strong play in the second half by coming up big in the next drive. He capped off a 14-play drive from the team with a 13-yard romp to the endzone to give Philly a 14-7 lead near the end of the half.
The tough times for the 49ers continued at the end of the second quarter when Johnson bobbled a snap and Eagles star Haason Reddick pounced to recover the ball. Reddick has had an amazing first half that includes two sacks and a forced fumble.
Philadelphia made the turnover pay off as they moved the ball deeper into the San Francisco zone and tallied another TD on a Boston Scott 10-yard run. After a back and fourth defensive battle for much of the half, a late surge from the Eagles took them into the half with a 21-7 lead.
More bad luck followed the 49ers in the third quarter. In their first drive to open the half, the replacement was rushed and knocked down on an errant pass. While falling to the ground, he banged the back of his head on the turf. He is now questionable to return due to a possible concussion.
However, it seems like the team’s starter Brock Purdy will try and give it a go with his banged-up elbow, and has returned to the game.
With Purdy back under center, San Francisco was not able to gather any momentum. However, the Eagles were again when they got the ball back. Going on a 15-play, 91-yard drive led by more outstanding blocking and running.
With under a minute left in the third, the Philadelphia Eagles used a QB sneak from their MVP candidate to score their fourth rushing TD and extend to a 28-7 lead heading into the final period.
The momentum behind the Eagles showed on the 49ers’ next possession as the Philly front seven started to easily cut through the San Francisco offensive line to blow up plays in the backfield. Down by 21 and with an injured rookie QB, the 49ers seem demoralized in the final period of the game.
After a field goal pushed the Eagles’ lead to 31-7, frustration started to get the better of 49ers players as star offensive lineman Trent Williams lost control and slammed an opposed player to the turf during a scrum. The outburst led to punches being thrown and two players being ejected from the game.
The ugly scene was a capper on a nightmare evening for the San Francisco 49ers as they suffered a second straight loss in the NFC Championship game. This time the Philadelphia Eagles, 31-7.
San Francisco 49ers vs Philadelphia Eagles preview
Sunday will be a showdown of the top two teams in our latest NFL Playoff defense rankings. While defense may not be sexy to casual fans, it is often the quality that separates contenders from pretenders. And both of these units are very much the former and not the latter.
While this game is unlikely to be an aerial display like fans should expect in the AFC Championship, it will be entertaining nonetheless because of what will be a high level of physicality. Their nasty defenses are likely to dictate the action, however, both teams also boast very strong running attacks.
49ers vs Eagles odds, matchups, and predictions
After the Eagles were the fourth team in NFL history to rack up 70 sacks in a season, and with the 49ers having the best pass rusher in the sport, Nick Bosa, don’t be surprised to see both teams’ talented back — Christian McCaffrey and Miles Sanders — see a lot of action as they play away from the pass rush strengths.
49ers and Eagles QB comparison
| Player | Team | Comp % | Yards | TD | INT | QB rating |
| Brock Burdy | 49ers | 67.1 | 1,375 | 13 | 4 | 107.3 |
| Jalen Hurts | Eagles | 66.5 | 3,701 | 22 | 6 | 101.5 |
Both teams are also among the top 10 in our latest NFL offense rankings and that is due to the outstanding play of their young quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy. However, what makes them both so dangerous is their ability to tuck the ball and run when no receivers are open. Especially Hurts, who earned being a finalist for NFL MVP after being the deadliest dual threat in the sport this season.