Jalen Hurts scored one of four rushing touchdowns for the Philadelphia Eagles as they routed a banged-up San Francisco 49ers squad 31-7 in the NFC Championship game to book their spot in Super Bowl LVII.
Story of the game
The Eagles won their only Super Bowl title five years ago with a different head coach and quarterback and they will now try to add a second behind the formidable duo of Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni.
Miles Sanders ran for two TDs against San Francisco, while linebacker Haason Redick came up with the key strip-sack of 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy in the first quarter, while he also recovered a fumble from backup QB Josh Johnson later in the first half.
Both Niners quarterbacks would end up leaving the game. Purdy exited with an elbow injury, and though he would return in the third quarter after Johnson was placed in concussion protocol, he was severely limited throwing the football.
With San Francisco having to all but give up on throwing the football, they were unable to dig themselves out of the 21-7 hole they found themselves in at half-time.
The evening turned disastrous almost immediately as Sanders drew first blood with a six-yard rushing touchdown, following off the back of a seemingly sensational one-handed catch from DeVonta Smith on fourth down. Had the 49ers reviewed the catch, replays ultimately showed it would have been ruled incomplete. Purdy then exited the game on San Francisco's first possession.
Despite the early adversity, Niners star running back Christian McCaffrey broke through a swarm of defenders to put the visitors on the board in the second quarter and tie the game up at 7-7.
But, Sanders and the Eagles answered back immediately, with the running back finding the end zone for a second time to cap a 14-play, 75-yard drive beset by penalties called on the 49ers defense.
Johnson then fumbled the ball on San Francisco's next offensive series and Boston Scott scored soon after, with the two Eagles touchdowns within 80 seconds of each other late in the first half effectively ending the contest.
Stats leaders
49ers
- Passing: Josh Johnson, 7/13, 74 yards
- Brock Purdy, 4/4, 23 yards
- Rushing: Christian McCaffrey, 15 carries, 84 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving: Deebo Samuel, 3 catches, 33 yards
Eagles
- Passing: Jalen Hurts, 15/25, 121 yards
- Rushing: Miles Sanders, 11 carries, 42 yards, 2 TDs
- Receiving: DeVonta Smith, 2 catches, 36 yards
What's next?
It's the Super Bowl!
The Eagles are headed to Arizona for Super Bowl LVII, where they will face the Kansas City Chiefs from the AFC.
The Eagles have made the Super Bowl twice before, losing once - to the Raiders in 1980 - and winning on their most recent visit five years ago, beating the New England Patriots 41-33 in a thriller.
You can watch Super Bowl LVII live on Sky Sports NFL, with kick-off from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, from 11.30pm on Sunday, February 12.
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