Eagles vs. 49ers Wild Card Round: The good, the bad, and the ugly

And the new … Super Bowl champions will not be the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles were Super Bowl champions. The San Francisco 49ers ended the Eagles’ hopes of repeating on Sunday with masterclass coaching by Kyle Shanahan in a 23-19 victory over the Eagles in the Wild Card round silencing the stunned denizens at Lincoln Financial Field.

A premature end of this season seemed ominous throughout the year with a clunky, impaired offense under coordinator Kevin Patullo, who the Eagles will undoubtedly announce in the coming days or weeks will be fired, and disgruntled receiver AJ Brown, who most likely will be gone.

It marked the first home playoff loss for Nick Sirianni in his five-year coaching tenure—and it was well earned.

The Eagles lacked discipline on the field, committing seven penalties for 48 yards, which included an important Niners’ first down.

The Eagles lacked discipline off the field, which was there on full display, when Sirianni and Brown got into a childish bickering match on the sideline with 2:02 left in the first half, because Brown would not get off the field fast enough.

Maybe someone needed to remind them both that they were in the throes of a tense NFL playoff game with the season at stake than how fast someone jogs off the field?

On their first three drives, the Eagles picked up 182 yards of total offense over 33 plays. After that, Niners’ defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, with a patchwork of guys off the street, held the Eagles to 125 yards of total offense over 41 plays, averaging 3 yards a play, the remainder of the game. Two of the Eagles’ six drives in the second half came out to negative yards, while San Francisco scored on two of three fourth-quarter drives, and were the beneficiaries of two Quinyon Mitchell interceptions that the Eagles converted into three points.

In the end, with the game hanging in the balance, the Eagles moved with no alacrity whatsoever. Facing a fourth-and-11, with 43 seconds left to play, at the Niners’ 21, they opted to go with a play down the most congested part of the field down the middle of the field.      

When Jalen Hurts looked for Dallas Goedert, there were three Niners’ defenders surrounding him.

Why call that play there?

Hurts was 20 of 35 for 168 yards and a touchdown. Niners’ quarterback Brock Purdy outdueled him, throwing for 262 yards and two touchdowns, completing 18 of 31. The Niners averaged almost two yards more a play than the Eagles (6.2 to 4.3), and converted 6 of 11 first downs (54.4 %) to the Eagles’ 5 of 16 (31.2%).

Well, at least the Eagles won the Super Bowl. They have that, well, had that—in 2025. They just need to learn how to deal better with success when it comes to repeating.   

There was some good, some bad and a mountain of ugly in the Eagles’ 23-19 Wild Card playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

The Good

Saquon Barkley rushing for a game-high 106 yards on 26 carries, and placing the Eagles in good positions offensively when he touched the ball. He also caught three passes for 25 yards.

Quinyon Mitchell coming back. After a horrible start, he had two interceptions. On the Niners’ second drive, he defended Niners’ tight end George Kittle on a second-and-six at the Niners’ 30. Mitchell had a rough first series, getting burned three times. Mitchell later took down Purdy on the final play of the first half, and the fumble out of bounds and cost the Niners a critical field goal. Feeling confident after the game’s first drive, the Niners felt that they could go at Mitchell again on their first drive of the second half. Purdy was looking at Skyy Moore and Mitchell was reading Purdy. Mitchell picked up his third postseason interception at the Eagles’ 48. The Eagles then blew the turnover with their third-straight three-and-out. Mitchell later had his second interception with Purdy was looking at back-up tight end Jake Tonges with 12:04 left in the game. It led to a 19-17 Eagles’ lead with 8:00 to play.

Jake Elliott rebounding to hit a 33-yarder with 8:00 to play, after hitting a 41-yard field goal with 2:11 left in the third quarter. Elliott, like many other Eagles, did not start well, slamming a first-quarter extra point off the upright to force the Eagles into chasing points.

The Eagles’ defense beginning the second half with an interception and a three-and-out.

Braden Mann’s booming 58-yard punt after the Eagles opened the second half with a three-and-out. The punt put the Niners back on their five with 13:29 left in the third quarter.

Jalen Carter getting the first sack of the game with 1:12 left in the first half on a second-and-six at the Niners’ 27. Carter took advantage of Brock Purdy stepping up in the pocket and taking Purdy down for a five-yard loss.

Tight end Dallas Goedert scoring his second TD. It came on a chancy fourth-and-two play with 6:08 left in the first half. Goedert established an Eagles’ franchise record 12th touchdown reception for a tight end in a season. Goedert’s 15-yard reception on fourth-and-five at the Eagles’ 40 with 2:21 left to play. The catch kept the Eagles season alive. Goedert finished with four catches on seven targets for 33 yards and a touchdown, along with his rushing TD.  

The Eagles marathon 16-play, 94-yard drive on their third possession, giving them their first lead of the game, 13-7. The drive started at the Eagles’ six and began with Hurts hitting AJ Brown with a seven-yard pass on the final play of the first quarter. The key plays of the drive were a Hurts’ 13-yard completion to DeVonta Smith on a third-and-14 at the Eagles’ 30, coming after a pre-snap false start penalty on Jahan Dotson, and the fourth down “Tush Push” conversion on the following play. Barkley’s 20-yard reception on a second-and-six at midfield was vintage Eagles’ 2024 offense. Tank Bigsby pounded through San Francisco for 20 yards on three plays—including his trucking through the middle for nine yards to the Niners’ 17. The Eagles took a big chance concluding the drive on a fourth-and-two, when Hurts found Dallas Goedert in the end zone for his second TD and a 13-7 Eagles’ lead.

Defensive end Nolan Smith coming up to nail Christian McCaffrey for a one-yard gain on the Niners’ first play of their third drive—right after San Francisco got the ball back from the Eagles when Sirianni tried going for it on fourth-and-two at the San Francisco 48.

The Eagles’ first offensive drive. As bad as the Eagles looked on defense, it’s how good they looked on offense, a rare twist, considering the way the regular season went. The huge play was Barkley’s 29-yard run that opened things up, and the Eagles converted two third downs, including the Eagles’ opening score. The Eagles traveled through a patchwork Niners’ defense for 63 yards over 10 plays. Barkley did the heavy lifting, rushing for 45 yards on six of the 10 plays.

The Bad

Brown, through his complaining, dropping a pass down the middle on a third-and-five at the Eagles’ 40 with 2:21 left to play. The ball went right through his hands. This could have been ugly, if not for Hurts hitting Goedert on fourth-and-five, keeping the Eagles in the game and momentarily keeping their season alive. Brown was targeted seven times and caught three passes for 25 yards—and he looked old, creaky doing it.

With 9:13 to play, Barkley limping off the field after the Niners’ safety Marques Sigle timed him on a run blitz and hit him on the left hip.

The Eagles starting the second half with two-straight three-and-outs. In their first three drives, the Eagles shredded San Francisco for 182 yards over 33 plays. On the three drives after, all three-and-outs, they picked up a mere four yards over 10 plays.

Marcus Epps called for illegal use of hands, giving the Niners a first down on their second play of the second half. The following play, Brock Purdy hit Demarcus Robinson with a 14-yard reception to the Niners’ 33.

The Eagles’ opening drive of the second half. It was their second-straight three-and-out, carrying over from the first half. Barkley ran for eight yards on the first play. Barkley was pushed back for a minus-one, and dropped a screen in the open field on third-and-two the next two.

Right tackle Fred Johnson, playing for the injured Lane Johnson, flagged for a false start on third-and-four at the Eagles’ 41, making it a third-and-nine at the Eagles’ 36 with 2:02 left in the first half. It was the Eagles’ fourth drive, and was their first three-and-out of the game. Fred Johnson, overall, had a rough game, possibly slowed by an injury earlier in the game, because he had played well this season the times he replaced Lane Johnson.

The Ugly

The Eagles getting shredded by the Niners’ offense late in the fourth quarter, when they drove 66 yards over 10 plays for the game-winning score. The Niners were so efficient that they only faced one third down in that series, which happened to be Brock Purdy’s four-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey for a 23-19 San Francisco lead with 2:54 to play.

The Eagles getting 36 yards of total offense, two first downs and two three-and-outs in the third quarter. It was a theme that carried on from the regular season.  

Safety Reed Blankenship taking his eyes off McCaffrey and letting the Niners’ star run right by him, which resulted in a 29-yard TD catch from receiver Jauan Jennings with 14:52 to play. The Eagles and Vic Fangio were caught completely off guard by the play from Shanahan, who out coached Sirianni and Fangio. Blankenship was later called for defensive holding with 4:32 left to play, wiping out a Jalen Carter sack at the Eagles’ 29.     

After Mitchell’s third-quarter interception, center Cam Jurgens’ holding call on second-and-10 at the Eagles’ 48, wiping out a Hurts’ 10-yard run—and first down.

Sirianni and Brown jawing at each other on the sideline late in the first half during an NFL Wild Card playoff game, for all the national TV audience and certainly the fans in the stands to see. It screams of dysfunction and is everything defending Super Bowl champions should not do—and something NFL coaches in control of their situation rarely engage in during tense moments of crucial playoff games. What stirred it was Brown not getting off the field fast enough after dropping a deep ball on a third-and-nine with 2:02 left in the first half. As Brown trotted off the field, he immediately reacted to something Sirianni said, and the two began arguing, to the point where “Big Dom” DiSandro had to come running over to separate the two. Both Sirianni and Brown had more important things to concern themselves with than jabbering at one another, while the enemy was supposed to be on the opposite side of the field.

Cooper DeJean, a first-team all-Pro choice, getting burned over the top by Jauan Jennings for 45 yards on a second-and-four at the San Francisco 29. It was the second 45-plus yard catch the Eagles had given up, and a lot of credit has to go to Brock Purdy who thread the ball beyond the outstretched hand of Eagles’ linebacker Zack Baun. The reception set up a 36-yard Eddy Pineiro field goal with 2:50 left in the first half. The Niners had 186 total yards of offense in the half—with 106 yards coming on two explosive receptions.

The Eagles going for it on fourth-and-two at the Niners’ 48 in the last two minutes of the first quarter. Overthe last nine games, the Eagles were 1-for-7 going for it on fourth down, and with a game this important, this early, it was another case of Nick Sirianni outthinking himself. Making it worst was Sirianni’s decision to pass the ball, which was almost intercepted by Niners’ rookie corner Upton Stout.  

Jake Elliott’s missed extra point. Not a good way to reclaim the momentum in responding to San Francisco’s opening touchdown.

The Eagles first defensive series. It could not have started any worse than the way the Niners ripped through the Eagles’ defense on the first drive of the game. Brock Purdy’s 61-yard completion to Demarcus Robinson on the second play was not a good omen. The Niners needed just six plays to go 76 yards, and did not need a third down. Robinson caught two passes for 63 yards. He came into the game with a season-high 44 yards receiving in a game and one touchdown. He exceeded that within the first four minutes of the game. Zack Baun missed him twice, safety Marcus Epps took a bad angle on him, and no one could catch him. Shanahan had the Eagles looking one way, while going the other. Shanahan played to the Eagles over pursuit. The Niners’ two-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone to Robinson was an example of that. They faked the jet sweep, and had 10 of the 11 Eagles defenders looking to the Niners’ left, while Purdy went right. Nakobe Dean went after Christian McCaffrey leaving an open area for Robinson to fill behind him.  

Quinyon Mitchell looking like Izel “Toast” Jenkins on the Niners’ first drive. Mitchell, a first-team all-Pro selection, and deservedly so, was roasted by Robinson on the second play of the game for 61 yards, roasted by McCaffrey on a second-and-10 for 11 yards, and roasted yet again by Robinson in the back of the end zone for the first score of the game. It was if an imposter was wearing No. 27 the first series. Mitchell came back and more than made up for it with two interceptions.