PHILADELPHIA — Behind a stifling defensive efficiency, the Philadelphia Eagles punched their ticket to Tremendous Bowl LVII after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 within the NFC Championship Sport on Sunday.

Quarterback and penalty woes marred San Francisco all through the sport. The Niners had been compelled to largely depend on the bottom recreation, with working again Christian McCaffrey accounting for his or her landing. All 4 of the Eagles’ touchdowns had been dashing TDs — together with two by working again Miles Sanders.

The Eagles will face both the Kansas City Chiefs or Cincinnati Bengals in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 12 (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox).

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles did not simply advance to Tremendous Bowl LVII — they bulldozed their means in. First, a 38-7 trouncing of the New York Giants within the divisional spherical of the playoffs. Then, a clobbering of the very best the NFC needed to provide, the San Francisco 49ers, within the NFC Championship Sport.

It’s the Eagles’ fourth journey to the Tremendous Bowl of their historical past — their most up-to-date coming within the 2017 season once they gained their first Lombardi Trophy. That yr, they weren’t favored in any of their playoff video games and performed the underdog card so arduous that gamers donned canine masks within the wake of every victory. This group, in distinction, has been the category of the convention from begin to end, absolutely snug within the alpha function.

The Eagles leaned into their strengths towards the 49ers. The group that had 32 dashing touchdowns within the common season — third most in NFL historical past — scored on the bottom 4 occasions towards San Francisco. And a defensive unit that paced the league with 70 sacks had three and 7 QB hits regardless of restricted dropbacks due to the accidents to 49ers quarterbacks Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson.

They roll into Glendale, Arizona, realizing they’re at the least nearly as good as any group within the league.

Pivotal play: Coach Nick Sirianni’s choice to go for it on fourth-and-1 from Philly’s personal 34-yard line halfway by the second quarter. Philadelphia has been aggressive on fourth down all season, however to go for it towards this 49ers protection in its personal territory took some guts. Jalen Hurts picked up the primary down on a QB sneak, and the Eagles went on to finish a 14-play, 75-yard drive, with a Sanders landing — his second of the day — placing Philly up 14-7.

QB breakdown: It was powerful sledding towards top-of-the-line defenses within the league. Hurts completed the primary half with minus-1 dashing yards, which marked the bottom first-half complete of his profession as a beginning QB. He ended up 15-of-25 for 121 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions by the air however acquired issues occurring the bottom within the second half, together with a 1-yard rating late within the third quarter to ice the sport.

Describe the sport in two phrases: Punishing protection. Edge rusher Haason Reddick led the way in which. Within the first half alone, when this recreation was gained, Reddick had two sacks, three pressures, a compelled fumble and a fumble restoration. Purdy suffered an elbow damage and Johnson left the sport with a concussion, forcing Purdy again in and McCaffrey to deal with some quarterback snaps.

Underrated stat to know: Coming into this yr, the Eagles had rushed for 3 or extra touchdowns in a playoff recreation solely as soon as of their historical past. They’ve performed it twice this yr, dashing for 4 touchdowns Sunday (three within the first half) after working for 3 scores final week of their divisional spherical victory over the Giants. — Tim McManus

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Combat ensues after Trent Williams throws down Okay’Von Wallace

Trent Williams will get into it with Okay’Von Wallace, resulting in a combat in the midst of the sector.

San Francisco 49ers

In some ways, the 49ers’ season ended Sunday prefer it started — with a bunch of questions on what, precisely, goes to occur at quarterback.

This season has been marked by upheaval on the recreation’s most necessary place. Most of that was the results of accidents to every of their chosen signal-callers. By way of all of it, the 49ers, maybe the least quarterback-dependent group within the NFL, managed to not solely survive, however thrive.

It introduced them to Lincoln Monetary Subject on Sunday with an opportunity to get to Tremendous Bowl LVII if solely they may knock off the high-powered Eagles

However all the Niners’ quarterback woes lastly caught as much as them on the worst potential time. By the tip of Sunday’s loss, they may now not overcome the accidents as a result of they had been left with out anybody able to main the cost.

Hope disappeared when Purdy suffered a proper elbow damage on the group’s first offensive sequence. The Niners turned to Johnson, their fourth quarterback of the season, who was signed from the Denver Broncos’ observe squad on Dec. 6.

Johnson made his first postseason look since getting into the league in 2009, however it would not final lengthy. He departed early within the third quarter with a concussion, leaving Purdy, incapable of throwing the ball downfield, to return again in.

And with that, the Niners’ probabilities of an upset vanished.

In an alternate universe, maybe Trey Lance would have been capable of save the day. Or possibly Jimmy Garoppolo might have put the ending touches on a outstanding reunion tour. Or Purdy might have turn out to be the primary rookie quarterback to steer his group to a Tremendous Bowl. However none of that occurred. And now the Niners head into one other offseason with loads of quarterback uncertainty.

Describe the sport in two phrases: Mistake-filled. Given the quarterback scenario, the 49ers had been already going through an uphill climb Sunday, however they did not do themselves any favors with repeated miscues. Along with their turnovers, the Niners dedicated 11 penalties for 81 yards, together with a handful that stored Philadelphia scoring drives alive.

Stat that issues: Turnovers are a very powerful indicator in wins and losses for each group, and the Niners have been a primary instance this season. Heading into Sunday, the Niners had been 15-0 in video games wherein that they had one or fewer turnovers. They had been 0-4 once they had two or extra.

In opposition to the Eagles, that they had three giveaways and misplaced, persevering with the pattern from the remainder of the season.

Pivotal play: Dealing with fourth-and-3 on the Niners’ 35 on the sport’s opening drive, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni determined to go for it. Hurts lobbed a go deep down the left sideline for wideout DeVonta Smith, who appeared to make an amazing diving catch, at the least within the eyes of the officers.

However Smith was uncertain that he caught it and alertly acquired his teammates to the road of scrimmage to attempt to snap the ball earlier than the 49ers might see a replay and situation a problem. Smith’s ploy labored and the Niners didn’t problem, giving the Eagles a primary down at San Francisco’s 6. They scored two performs later.

Underrated stat to know: McCaffrey had 25 yards after contact on his second-quarter landing run. He is the primary participant with a postseason rush TD with at the least 25 YAC since Jamaal Charles had one for the Chiefs within the 2010 AFC wild-card spherical. — Nick Wagoner