The Philadelphia Eagles gave up their right to be known as the defending Super Bowl champions on Sunday night. In so many ways, it would sum up the story of their season.
A season that was largely unsatisfying for AJ Brown, with the offense consistently underperforming as one of the league’s worst units under coach Kevin Pattullo, but it was a season that might have ended earlier if Vic Fangio’s defense hadn’t been able to hang on in games.
Fangio’s resistance gained momentum again Sunday night, but a lack of vitality on the other side of the ball ultimately proved decisive in a 23-19 loss to the injury-plagued San Francisco 49ers.
The Eagles led 13-10 at the half on two touchdowns by Dallas Goedert, but gained just 36 yards on 16 plays in the third quarter and only made two total field goals in the second half.
Jalen Hurts was limited to 168 yards through the air and had the ball at the 49ers’ 20-yard line with 43 seconds left on the final possession, but his fourth-and-11 pass to Goedert was broken up as the Eagles’ season ended.
“I just didn’t make that play,” Hurts said. “I own it. I own everything.”
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Christian McCaffrey scores his second touchdown of the night, clinching the victory for San Francisco.
Brown was both in and out of the game. Eagles wide receivers and head coach Nick Sirianni were separated at the end of the first half after a heated face-to-face exchange on the sideline in which the head coach ran and yelled at Brown for being slow off the field after a failed third down.
This is the latest in a strange campaign for Brown, who has lamented his lack of offensive involvement multiple times this season, including on a livestream where he encouraged fantasy football players to take him off their teams. Brown declined to speak to reporters after the game.
“I think he knows how I feel about him,” Sirianni said of his confrontation with Brown. “Me and him have a special relationship. We’ve probably been through every emotion you have together.
“We laughed together. We cried together. We screamed at each other. We both got emotional. I tried to run him off the field. That happened in this game. But I love him.”
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49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings throws trick play touchdown to McCaffrey
Brown also had a career-high two drops, including a routine grab on third-and-five with just over two minutes left, and finished the game with just three catches on seven targets for 25 yards. Hurts eventually converted on Goedert’s completion on fourth down, but was unable to turn the drive into points as the Eagles’ season neared its end.
“He has the best hands I’ve ever seen,” Sirianni said in defense of the receiver. “The way he catches the ball, the amount of different types of catches he makes. When you get as many targets as he does, there’s going to be some drop. I know he beats himself up on that.”
The Eagles held the ball for 10 more minutes than the 49ers and tallied 14 more plays than their opponents, but they lost star tight end George Kittle, lost 361-307 to an offense missing Ricky Pearsall, and then turned to an unlikely hero in DeMarcus Robinson. Christian McCaffrey was also on hand to handle his workload with over 100 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns as the 49ers coached the Eagles on their way to the divisional round.
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Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert scores his first career rushing touchdown and receiving TD in the first half against the San Francisco 49ers
Quinyon Mitchell intercepted Brock Purdy twice, the first time on the Eagles’ 48 with advantageous field position, and the second on the Eagles’ 38. Hearts and the others will limit that to just three points.
Saquon Barkley gained 106 yards but was held to just 35 in the second half as a familiar setback after the interval once again plagued the Eagles offense.
“That’s been a common theme for us this year,” Barkley said. “We haven’t done a good enough job of playing complete football. We put the two halves together. Sometimes you expect to get to this moment and then you figure it out.”
The Eagles have lost four games this season when they led in the fourth quarter, including Sunday’s loss, losing 137-91 in the final game.
The loss raises further questions about offensive coordinator Pattullo’s future. Pattullo is in his first year as the successor to Kellen Moore, and his job security has been under constant scrutiny.
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Two-touchdown hero McCaffrey ‘proud’ of 49ers’ performance
His offense, criticized for conservative play-calling, finished the regular season 24th in total yards, 23rd in passing, 18th in rushing, and 19th in points. Kyle Shanahan was in an equally contrasting light when Jauan Jennings threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey that ended with a trick play that put the 49ers in front early in the fourth quarter.
“There will be time to evaluate everyone’s performance,” Sirianni said. “Right now, my heart goes out to all the players in the locker room, all the players, all the coaches, the front office, everyone who works hard, the fans who come out to support us, Mr. (Chairman and CEO Jeffrey) Lurie. My heart goes out to all of us, all of them. There’s going to be time to evaluate everything going forward.”
The Eagles threatened their supremacy when they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans last February. Hurts came into his own on the biggest stage, at the helm of a star-studded offense whose talent level was deemed ready to turn on at any time, while Fangio’s defense was filled with young, stalwart game-breakers poised for eternal contention.
But ecstasy leads to a demoralizing ending as the Lombardi Trophy goes to a new owner. An autopsy is awaited.
Watch every game of the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl I from Levi’s Stadium live on Sky Sports NFL
